Contemporary exhibition on AI coming to Bletchley Park, once the top-secret home of the Second World War codebreakers
There’s a fascinating new contemporary exhibition on AI coming to Bletchley Park, once the top-secret home of the Second World War codebreakers, is now a vibrant heritage attraction in Milton Keynes.
The Age of AI can be discovered at Bletchley Park from February.
This exhibition will invite visitors to explore how artificial intelligence (AI) is already part of their everyday lives, while revealing cutting-edge research projects, and examining the opportunities and risks of frontier AI.
The temporary exhibition at Bletchley Park, a museum and heritage attraction in Milton Keynes, draws from the site’s unique significance as one of the birthplaces of modern computing and the venue of the first global AI Safety Summit (AISS) hosted by the UK Government.
Visitors to The Age of AI will learn about the connections between AI and Bletchley Park.
They will discover how AI is at the heart of groundbreaking advances in the worlds of healthcare, the environment and creative industries, while provoking discussion on how reliant on AI we could – and should - be.
The exhibition targeted at teenagers and people of their parents’ generation, will ask what is AI; what effect does it have on our experiences; and how will this change in the future? It will feature case studies, interactives and ‘talking heads’ from industry experts, looking at current and cutting-edge applications of AI, and explores how we might safely navigate our way through an increasingly AI-generated world.
The exhibition explores the links between AI today and Bletchley Park’s iconic codebreaking achievements during World War Two. Home to the Government Code and Cypher School (GC&CS) during wartime, now GCHQ, Bletchley Park is considered one of the birthplaces of modern computing, due to both the technological innovations and the achievements of the people that took place here during World War Two. Codebreakers who worked at Bletchley Park who went on to pioneer ideas around AI.
Alan Turing was a mathematician and is often considered ‘the father of AI’ - he broke conceptual ground in the fields of cryptography at Bletchley Park and computing, before and after his time at the codebreaking site. Other notable Bletchley Park Codebreakers include Jack Good and Donald Michie who both published works about AI, or intelligent machines, in their post-Bletchley Park careers.
Celebrating these links, Bletchley Park was chosen as the venue for the world’s first AI Safety Summit, hosted by the UK Government, in November 2023. This landmark event resulted in the Bletchley Declaration which and set out the need for collaboration between nations, companies, civil society, academia and international organisations to make sure AI is developed in a safe and responsible way, to ensure that the benefits of the technology can be harnessed responsibly for good and for all.
The Summit is part of an ongoing global movement. The summit series has continued, and AI is now part of conversations at the G7, UN, and G20 – joining other big issues of today’s world, like climate change. The third AI Safety Summit (the AI Action Summit) is being held in Paris on 10 and 11 February 2025. Bletchley Park Trust is grateful for the support and funding from the UK Government for The Age of AI exhibition. The funding was announced following the AI Safety Summit.
Entry to the The Age of AI exhibition is included with admission. Standard admission tickets to Bletchley Park act as an Annual Pass giving unlimited free returns within 12 months. Under 12s go free. Full details on the Bletchley Park website: https://bletchleypark.org.uk
About Bletchley Park
Bletchley Park is a vibrant heritage attraction and museum, open daily to visitors. It was the home of British Second World War codebreaking; a place where technological innovation and human endeavour came together to made ground-breaking achievements that have helped shape the world we live in today.
This unique site was previously a vast Victorian estate, where parts including the Mansion still survive, expanding during wartime to accommodate Codebreakers Huts and Blocks. During the Second World War, the Government Code and Cypher School (GC&CS), now known as the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), was based at Bletchley Park.
It grew from a small team of specialists to a vast intelligence factory of thousands of dedicated women and men. This extraordinary combination of brilliant and determined people and cutting-edge technology contributed significantly to Allied victory. In tough conditions, they provided vital intelligence and developed pioneering technological innovation that had a direct and profound influence on the outcome of the war.
The site continues to reveal secrets and tell fascinating stories of our national legacy. Support from donations and visitors helps to preserve the historically important site and to tell the story of what happened at Bletchley Park to future generations.
About DSIT
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology focuses on improving people’s lives by maximising the potential of science and technology. (DSIT) is passionate about raising awareness about AI safety, demonstrating that it is an important enabling function to innovation and highlighting the rapid rate of AI development and the need for governments to keep pace.
The Bletchley Park Trust
Bletchley Park Trust is a registered charity, heritage attraction and independent museum. As an independent charity, we rely on income from our visitors, Friends and supporters to secure the long- term future of the site. Registered charity number: 1012743.
About Block A
The Age of AI will be housed in Block A, a restored wartime building at the heart of the historic Second World War codebreaking site and also home to a permanent exhibition, The Intelligence Factory.
Block A was constructed in 1942, when Bletchley Park began to expand. It housed among other teams, Naval Section and Air Section and was the site of BP’s naval Plotting Room where staff tracked and plotted the positions of vessels around the world through details gathered from intercepted messages.
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