Britain’s government pulls the plug on a superfast computer
The decision is likely to hurt researchers and AI companies
British scientific pursuits have long been thwarted by parsimony. Black Arrow, the only British rocket to successfully launch a satellite into orbit, was subjected to endless reviews by sceptical beancounters in the Treasury. The first attempt failed to reach orbit; by the time of the successful mission, in 1971, funding for the future of the programme had been cancelled, effectively ending the country’s orbital space programme as it began. After decades of gathering dust the rocket’s battered remains were put on display in Penicuik, near Edinburgh, in 2019.
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This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition under the headline “It doesn’t compute”
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