The UK government has appointed Jade Leung as the Prime Minister’s new AI advisor.

Leung replaces Matt Clifford, who left in June after leading the nation's AI data center push and AI Opportunities Action Plan.

"As part of the role, [Leung] will work to position the UK as the leading nation to help unlock the benefits and prepare for the impacts of transformative AI, working closely with the Prime Minister to harness the technology as it delivers the strong foundations and economic growth which are central to the government’s Plan for Change," the government said in a statement.

Leung worked at generative AI leader OpenAI from 2021 to 2023, as a governance and policy adviser and also as governance lead.

From OpenAI, Leung moved to The AI Security Institute, a research organization within the Department of Science, Innovation, and Technology. She will continue her role as CTO at the organization and split her time between both jobs.

The UK government has said that the country needs to deploy "at least" 6GW of AI-capable data center capacity by 2030 to remain competitive.

Core is a plan to establish a number of 'AI Growth Zones,' areas across the country that will speed up data center planning approvals, energy connections, and overseas investment.

Each of these sites should support at least 500MW, "with at least one AI Growth Zone scaling to more than 1GW by 2030," the paper said.

The government plans to confirm and commence development of the first AI Growth Zones by the end of this year, delivering sites across the UK, "including in Scotland and Wales."