Is the UK’s AI approach working?

As AI initiatives gather steam, the public and private sectors are assessing the level of investment necessary to unlock the value of the new technology. It’s clear that large funds and a strategic approach will be necessary to bring the workforce along with employers.

The UK government has announced several billion pounds in collective funding for AI projects and infrastructure deemed necessary for expanding the UK’s AI sector. As governments around the world look to unlock AI success of their own, however, is the UK’s current approach enough?

In this episode, Jane and Rory speak to Alex Case, senior director and government industry principal EMEA at Pegasystems to discuss how well the UK is positioning itself to take advantage of the growing AI market.

Highlights

“What I think is probably needed here is to effectively utilize the private sector earlier in the process, to make sure that they are brought into the discussions within places like the Incubator for AI, within the Cabinet Office in general on this. Whether it's within the incubator or within the central digital and data office, to ensure that there is a full understanding of what the private sector can offer and the solutions and the technology that is being developed in the private sector around AI, that that is feeding into the kind of upstream elements of the policy and delivery programs being developed by government. I think there is rightly, in some cases, wrongly in others a real reticence to do that early enough. And I'm seeing that at the moment with AI as well.”

“What we can't have, particularly in government services, is a kind of black box approach to AI where ‘computer says no’ or ‘computer says yes’ and no one knows why. There has to be a good understanding of the logic and transparency around the decisions that are made, particularly in many areas of government where there are real impacts from the decisions that are made.”

“I think when it comes to being a leader in the AI space we as a country, as opposed to just the government, the internal workings of the government, we as a country are very well positioned. We do have a lot of companies here, we have a lot of good technology here, we have a lot of thought leaders in the space of AI. I think that if we get the guidance and the legislation and we are kind of pro-innovation enough, then we can reinforce our position as one of the global leaders in AI.”

Footnotes

• UK competition watchdog says it has “very real concerns” over big tech AI dominance
• UK AI regulation: Lawmakers reportedly eye a tighter approach
• Microsoft believes the UK can become a "global leader in AI", but regulation needs fixing
• Investment in UK AI firms plummeted last year despite the hype surrounding generative AI
• The UK government’s AI goals are being stifled by ‘apocalyptic concerns’ over safety

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