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Andy Burnham and Kyiv reach agreement to use Ukrainian battlefield data to protect British infrastructure from rioters and hostile states.

The administration announced a new deal between London and Kyiv to utilize Ukrainian battlefield data to protect British military bases, railways, and energy plants. By leveraging AI models trained on four years of Ukrainian military data, the UK will develop systems to identify threats from hostile states and rioters. The technology uses AI-optimized sensors in buried fiber-optic cables to detect unique movements of people and vehicles around sensitive sites. Andy Burnham said the partnership allows British companies to combine AI expertise with Ukraine's battlefield experience to accelerate national security capabilities. The Ministry of Defence has already approved pilot projects with three British AI companies, including Sintela, which recently secured a $35m deal with the administration to provide surveillance on the US-Mexico border. Defence Secretary Wes Streeting noted that Ukraine is pushing the frontier of defense innovation. While some experts, such as Steven Murdoch, suggest it remains to be seen if the data will significantly refine existing sensor technologies, the government aims to use the AI to predict threats to the power grid and other critical infrastructure.

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