- Entries open for historic £1 million pioneering Manchester Prize AI innovations that address some of society’s biggest challenges
- key areas of focus of the premier center on energy, environment and infrastructure, which will take place as the COP28 global climate conference continues in the United Arab Emirates
- the Manchester Prize should reward brilliant people based in the United Kingdom AI the mind at the heart of problem solving
The UK’s brightest minds AI can now enter a new £1 million prize to showcase their innovative ideas to tackle some of society’s biggest challenges.
The Manchester Prize, launched for the first time today (Thursday 7 December), is part of the Government’s commitment to putting the UK at the forefront of AI revolution, helping the best and brightest develop the technologies of tomorrow.
AI is already beginning to unlock enormous opportunities in the fight against climate change, healthcare transformation and beyond, and this award aims to spark more cutting-edge innovations in the safe use of healthcare. AI for good, which will bring real change for citizens across the country.
Viscount Camrose, Minister of AI and intellectual property, declared:
Our ten-year financial commitment to the Manchester Prize will enable the UK to continue to exploit the transformative opportunities of AI for the public good.
AI is already helping us reduce our carbon emissions, paving the way for incredible advances in healthcare and even improving our productivity in the workplace.
The award’s goal of helping to address some of society’s most pressing challenges is a true call to arms for people and organizations from all walks of life to come up with ingenious solutions.
For the first two years, the award will focus on solutions to energy, environment and infrastructure challenges. This could include the use AI technology to support the transition to electric vehicles by optimizing charging methods, reducing household energy consumption by using AI to identify targeted interventions such as adding insulation or helping reduce costs for consumers by automating energy-intensive manufacturing processes. AI is a vital tool in the fight to help us significantly reduce our emissions by 2030 as we strive to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, including by accelerating plans to decarbonise the energy sector and the economy as a whole.
The award, awarded by Challenge Works, marks the start of a decade-long commitment by the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Technology, building on the injection of 3.5 billion pounds to make the UK a science and technology superpower announced in this year’s spring budget. This is a £2.5 billion quantum strategy that will bring new investment, fast-growing businesses and high-quality jobs to the UK, cementing its reputation as a leading place to market quantum; and £1 billion to create the next generation of supercomputers and AI research to make the UK a science and technology superpower.
Jeremy Hunt, Chancellor of the Exchequer, said:
Manchester is the birthplace of the world’s first modern computer and has inspired countless innovations in computing. I hope that this award will in turn inspire the next generation to tackle some of society’s greatest challenges.
The UK is Europe’s leading technology ecosystem ahead of Germany and France, and through initiatives like this we can consolidate our position as a science and technology superpower, helping to grow our economy.
The Manchester Prize is an open competition, allowing a much wider community of innovators to participate and enabling the UK to draw on talent from all sectors. The Manchester Prize’s namesake is the Manchester Baby, the world’s first computer with electronic memory, built at the University of Manchester.
Energy Minister Andrew Bowie said:
To kiss AI could help leverage the incredible progress we have made to decarbonize our energy system. From predicting solar power generation in real time to better grid management, technology has huge potential to help reduce emissions by 2030.
The Government has already provided £3.75 million towards AIcompetition-based decarbonization projects, and this new competitive financing is an exciting opportunity to unleash new innovations.
The inaugural Manchester Prize, which opens for applications today, will run until March 2025. Entries are encouraged from UK-based businesses, not-for-profit organisations, universities and charities, with a deadline of February 1, 2024. In April, up to 10 applications will be chosen to move forward, and each of these finalists will win a prize of £100,000 to develop their ideas into a working prototype. One of these teams will win the £1 million grand prize.
To select the most promising solutions, the finalists and the final grand prize winner will be chosen based on five judging criteria: the degree of innovation of their solution compared to current cutting-edge technology, the impact of solution, long-term viability, feasibility of delivering a working prototype and proof of safety and ethics AI development.
Manchester Prize finalists will also benefit from a range of non-financial support, including a package of free computing power to deliver their solutions. Additionally, finalists will interact with key stakeholders, potential investors and users of their technology in the public and private sectors, to share knowledge and encourage collaboration.
Notes to editors
For more details on the registration process, visit manchesterprize.org.
Applications may come from individuals, businesses and other types of organizations, or a consortium of any combination thereof, but must nominate a lead person/organization. Teams must be based in the UK and be able to receive funds into a UK bank account in the name of the main participant. In the case of consortia, only the lead partner must be based in the UK.
Finalist and grand prize money does not need to be repaid, we take no equity, and entrants do not give up their intellectual property rights.