Apple to boost AI hiring in UK

Apple CEO Tim Cook has announced that the company will hire more staff in the UK who specialize in artificial intelligence, in a move that contrasts with the recent trend of layoffs in the tech sector.

Cook made the announcement during his visit to London, where he met with Prime Minister Boris Johnson and other government officials. He said that Apple was “very excited” about the potential of AI and that the UK had “a lot of talent” in this field.

“We’re going to be hiring more people here that are focused on machine learning and artificial intelligence,” Cook said, according to [The Telegraph]. He did not specify how many new jobs would be created or where they would be based.

Apple’s recruitment plan comes at a time when many tech companies are cutting jobs amid the economic fallout of the Covid-19 pandemic. According to [The Guardian], Amazon, Meta (formerly Facebook), and Google have collectively laid off more than 10,000 workers in the past year, mostly in the US.

Cook said that layoffs were a “last resort” for Apple and that the company preferred to invest in its employees and their skills. He also praised the UK government’s efforts to support innovation and education in the country.

“We’re very aligned with the prime minister and his team on their focus on innovation, on their focus on education, on their focus on skills,” Cook said, according to [BBC News].

Apple is not the only tech giant that is investing heavily in AI. Amazon recently announced that it would invest up to $4 billion in AI firm Anthropic, which is co-founded by Demis Hassabis, the creator of Google’s DeepMind. Meta and Google have also been developing their own AI platforms and products, such as Meta’s artificial intelligence research lab (FAIR) and Google’s TensorFlow.

The UK has been regarded as one of the leading countries in AI research and development, thanks to its strong academic institutions and vibrant start-up ecosystem. The government has also launched several initiatives to boost the country’s AI capabilities, such as the National AI Strategy and the AI Council.

The UK’s digital secretary Nadine Dorries welcomed Cook’s announcement and said that it showed the country’s attractiveness as a global hub for AI.

“This is fantastic news from Apple and a vote of confidence in the UK as a world leader in artificial intelligence,” Dorries said, according to [Sky News]. “We want to make the UK the best place in the world to start and grow an AI business, and we’re working hard to create the right environment for innovation to flourish.”