{"title":"LASR AND SCIENCE ADVICE — THE RESEARCH AND NATIONAL INSTITUTES AI UNIVERSE","built":"2026-11-01 08:14 UTC","last_checked":"2026-10-28","checked_range":["2026-10-28","2026-10-28"],"as_of":"2026-10-28","buckets":[{"key":"unit","label":"Units and teams","color":"#8E2433","count":0},{"key":"system","label":"AI systems in use","color":"#1F2F4F","count":0},{"key":"prog","label":"Programmes and funds","color":"#2F5A45","count":0},{"key":"skills","label":"Skills and training","color":"#6E5716","count":0},{"key":"infra","label":"Compute and data infrastructure","color":"#54476E","count":0},{"key":"gov","label":"Governance and assurance","color":"#3E4555","count":0},{"key":"part","label":"Partnerships","color":"#5C5240","count":1},{"key":"rule","label":"Rules and law","color":"#A3394B","count":2},{"key":"reg","label":"Regulator actions","color":"#3D5A80","count":0}],"divisions":[{"key":"government-office-for-science","label":"Government Office for Science","count":2,"depts":[{"dept":"Government Office for Science","count":1},{"dept":"Council for Science and Technology","count":1}]},{"key":"ncsc","label":"NCSC","count":1,"depts":[{"dept":"NCSC","count":1}]}],"colleges":[],"nodes":[{"id":"GOV-RES-060","name":"Laboratory for AI Security Research (LASR)","type":"Partnerships","category":"LASR and science advice","affiliation":"Group page (UKRI, ARIA, the Turing, AI Standards Hub, public compute, LASR)","status_group":"current","status":"current — 2025 (first full operational year 2024-25)","function":"Brings together industry, academic and government experts to assess AI's impact on national security, on a \"catalytic\" model meant to draw in industry investment. Announced 25 November 2024 at the NATO Cyber Defence Conference with \"an initial £8.22m round of government funding\". First-year outputs: research into secure federated learning and adversarial patch mitigation; \"A novel taxonomy of attacks and defences on AI systems, enabling systematic gap analysis.\"; \"The launch of an AI Security Demonstrator with Cisco, focused on CNI scenarios.\"; a heatmap tool of research activity. Research partners in year one included the Turing, Queen's University Belfast and Lancaster University. Opportunity areas: AI supply chain security; agentic AI security; AI infrastructure security.","composition":"","parent":"home after July 2026 not yet published (NCSC is lead)","parent_research":"Cabinet Office / GCHQ-NCSC (announced by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster; NCSC \"primary government sponsor and technical lead\")","relationships":"","notes":"Parent shown as “home after July 2026 not yet published (NCSC is lead)” (was “Cabinet Office / GCHQ-NCSC (announced by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster; NCSC \"primary government sponsor and technical lead\")” in the research; 4.1 (Parents): LASR).","checked":"2026-10-28","website":[],"sources":["https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-and-its-allies-must-stay-one-step-ahead-in-new-ai-arms-race","https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/collection/ncsc-annual-review-2025/chapter-03-keeping-pace-with-evolving-technology/artificial-intelligence","https://www.lasr.ac.uk/","https://www.lasr.ac.uk/research"],"source_quotes":[{"url":"https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-and-its-allies-must-stay-one-step-ahead-in-new-ai-arms-race","quotes":["an initial £8.22m round of government funding","pull together world-class industry, academic and government experts"],"accessed":"2026-10-28","secondary":false,"raw":""},{"url":"https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/collection/ncsc-annual-review-2025/chapter-03-keeping-pace-with-evolving-technology/artificial-intelligence","quotes":["the first full operational year","a central pillar of the UK's AI security ecosystem","The launch of an AI Security Demonstrator with Cisco, focused on CNI scenarios."],"accessed":"2026-10-28","secondary":false,"raw":""},{"url":"https://www.lasr.ac.uk/","quotes":["brings together academia, industry, and government to advance UK leadership in AI security research"],"accessed":"2026-10-28","secondary":false,"raw":""},{"url":"https://www.lasr.ac.uk/research","quotes":["LASR probes foundational AI risks and trust mechanisms, turning rigorous research insights into solutions that help organisations adopt AI safely."],"accessed":"2026-10-28","secondary":false,"raw":""}],"bucket":"part","depts":[{"dept":"NCSC","div":"ncsc"}],"colleges":[],"directorate":"NCSC (sponsor) with founding partners","previous_parent":"founding partners included DSIT and FCDO","parent_changed":"2026-07 for DSIT functions","head":"null (not published)","established":"2024-11-25","location":"null (not published)","money":"fund: £8.22m GBP initial government funding, 2024-25, allocated","supplier_id_guess":"biz-plexal (founding partner); biz-cisco (demonstrator partner)","system":null,"rule":null,"topics":["safety and security","defence"],"confidence":"verified","confidence_raw":"verified","one_source":false,"as_of":"2026-10-28","rec_table":[],"ext_links":[{"kind":"partner_of","id":"GOV-RES-030","name":"The Alan Turing Institute","page":"research/turing","href":"../../research/turing/#org=GOV-RES-030","page_label":"The Turing"},{"kind":"partner_of","id":"GOV-CO-005","name":"AI Security Institute (AISI)","page":"cabinet-office","href":"../../cabinet-office/#org=GOV-CO-005","page_label":"Cabinet Office"},{"kind":"related","id":"GOV-RES-022","name":"Safeguarded AI programme","page":"research/aria","href":"../../research/aria/#org=GOV-RES-022","page_label":"ARIA"}],"link_texts":[{"kind":"parent","target":"NCSC","ids":[]},{"kind":"partner_of","target":"GOV-RES-030 (Turing)","ids":["GOV-RES-030"]},{"kind":"partner_of","target":"AI Security Institute","ids":["GOV-CO-005"]},{"kind":"partner_of","target":"Dstl","ids":[]},{"kind":"partner_of","target":"University of Oxford","ids":[]},{"kind":"partner_of","target":"Queen's University Belfast","ids":[]},{"kind":"partner_of","target":"Plexal","ids":[]},{"kind":"related","target":"GOV-RES-022 (Safeguarded AI)","ids":["GOV-RES-022"]}],"div_label":"NCSC","degree":0,"related_ids":[]},{"id":"GOV-RES-061","name":"Government Office for Science: \"AI Scenarios 2030\"","type":"Rules and law","category":"LASR and science advice","affiliation":"Group page (UKRI, ARIA, the Turing, AI Standards Hub, public compute, LASR)","status_group":"current","status":"current — 2026-06-15 (page metadata shows a later update 16 October 2026)","function":"A Foresight project that \"explores how AI capabilities could develop and affect security, geopolitics, the economy and society by 2030\", presenting five scenarios to \"help policymakers test assumptions, identify risks and opportunities\". An updated version of the AI 2030 Scenarios Report published in 2025. 72-page PDF.","composition":"","parent":"not verified","parent_research":"not verified","relationships":"","notes":"","checked":"2026-10-28","website":[],"sources":["https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ai-scenarios-2030-helping-policymakers-plan-for-the-future-of-ai","https://www.gov.uk/api/search.json?q=artificial+intelligence&filter_organisations=government-office-for-science&order=-public_timestamp&count=20"],"source_quotes":[{"url":"https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ai-scenarios-2030-helping-policymakers-plan-for-the-future-of-ai","quotes":["explores how AI capabilities could develop and affect security, geopolitics, the economy and society by 2030"],"accessed":"2026-10-28","secondary":false,"raw":""},{"url":"https://www.gov.uk/api/search.json?q=artificial+intelligence&filter_organisations=government-office-for-science&order=-public_timestamp&count=20","quotes":["AI Scenarios 2030: Helping policymakers plan for the future of AI | 2026-06-15 | research"],"accessed":"2026-10-28","secondary":false,"raw":""}],"bucket":"rule","depts":[{"dept":"Government Office for Science","div":"government-office-for-science"}],"colleges":[],"directorate":"Government Office for Science (Foresight)","previous_parent":"DSIT","parent_changed":"2026-07 presumed","head":null,"established":"2025 (first edition); 2026-06-15 (this edition)","location":null,"money":null,"supplier_id_guess":null,"system":null,"rule":{"kind":"report","stage":"published","stage_date":"2026-06-15","sponsor":"Government Office for Science","applies_to":"policymakers"},"topics":["safety and security","international cooperation","investment and growth"],"confidence":"verified","confidence_raw":"verified","one_source":false,"as_of":"2026-10-28","rec_table":[],"ext_links":[{"kind":"related","id":"GOV-CO-005","name":"AI Security Institute (AISI)","page":"cabinet-office","href":"../../cabinet-office/#org=GOV-CO-005","page_label":"Cabinet Office"}],"link_texts":[{"kind":"related","target":"GOV-RES-062","ids":["GOV-RES-062"]},{"kind":"related","target":"AI Security Institute","ids":["GOV-CO-005"]}],"div_label":"Government Office for Science","degree":1,"related_ids":["GOV-RES-062"]},{"id":"GOV-RES-062","name":"Council for Science and Technology letter: \"AI sovereignty: preserving UK agency in an AI-enabled world\"","type":"Rules and law","category":"LASR and science advice","affiliation":"Group page (UKRI, ARIA, the Turing, AI Standards Hub, public compute, LASR)","status_group":"current","status":"current — 2026-10-19 (published; written July 2026)","function":"Advice to the Minister for AI on AI sovereignty, defined as \"having sufficient agency across the AI value chain to deliver the UK's chosen outcomes\". Four recommendations: \"develop a UK AI Sovereignty Plan based on a clear overview of the AI ecosystem\"; \"set up clear governance and coordination for AI sovereignty choices\"; \"invest now in the foundations of long-term domestic AI capability, including skills, data and public trust\"; \"maintain trusted access to leading AI models while building selected UK capability\". CST minutes of its 29 September 2025 meeting were published 26 November 2025 (not opened).","composition":"","parent":"Government Office for Science (CST secretariat) — department not stated on the page","parent_research":"Government Office for Science (CST secretariat) — department not stated on the page","relationships":"","notes":"","checked":"2026-10-28","website":[],"sources":["https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ai-sovereignty-preserving-uk-agency-in-an-ai-enabled-world","https://www.gov.uk/api/search.json?q=Turing+Institute+letter+Secretary+of+State&count=20","https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/council-for-science-and-technology-meeting-minutes-september-2025"],"source_quotes":[{"url":"https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ai-sovereignty-preserving-uk-agency-in-an-ai-enabled-world","quotes":["having sufficient agency across the AI value chain to deliver the UK's chosen outcomes"],"accessed":"2026-10-28","secondary":false,"raw":""},{"url":"https://www.gov.uk/api/search.json?q=Turing+Institute+letter+Secretary+of+State&count=20","quotes":["AI sovereignty: preserving UK agency in an AI-enabled world | 2026-10-19 | correspondence"],"accessed":"2026-10-28","secondary":false,"raw":""},{"url":"https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/council-for-science-and-technology-meeting-minutes-september-2025","quotes":["This is a record of the discussion of the Council for Science and Technology (CST) meeting held on 29 September 2025."],"accessed":"2026-10-28","secondary":false,"raw":""}],"bucket":"rule","depts":[{"dept":"Council for Science and Technology","div":"government-office-for-science"}],"colleges":[],"directorate":"Council for Science and Technology (CST)","previous_parent":null,"parent_changed":null,"head":null,"established":"2026-07 (letter); 2026-10-19 (published)","location":null,"money":null,"supplier_id_guess":null,"system":null,"rule":{"kind":"report","stage":"published","stage_date":"2026-10-19","sponsor":"Council for Science and Technology","applies_to":"Minister for AI (Kanishka Narayan MP)"},"topics":["safety and security","compute and infrastructure","investment and growth"],"confidence":"verified","confidence_raw":"verified","one_source":false,"as_of":"2026-10-28","rec_table":[],"ext_links":[{"kind":"related","id":"GOV-RES-013","name":"AI Research Resource (AIRR) — access routes and allocation","page":"research/ukri","href":"../../research/ukri/#org=GOV-RES-013","page_label":"UKRI"},{"kind":"related","id":"GOV-RES-035","name":"Founding of the Turing: CST \"Age of Algorithms\" letter (2013) and £42m grant (2014)","page":"research/turing","href":"../../research/turing/#org=GOV-RES-035","page_label":"The Turing"}],"link_texts":[{"kind":"related","target":"Cabinet Office (OPMC AI Taskforce)","ids":[]},{"kind":"related","target":"GOV-RES-013 (AIRR)","ids":["GOV-RES-013"]},{"kind":"related","target":"GOV-RES-035","ids":["GOV-RES-035"]}],"div_label":"Government Office for Science","degree":1,"related_ids":["GOV-RES-061"]}],"links":[{"source":"GOV-RES-061","target":"GOV-RES-062","kind":"related","evidence":"GOV-RES-061 links: related → GOV-RES-062"}],"placement_method":{"head":1,"tree":2}}