Editorial

‘If we do it right, AI could unlock £630bn for British GDP’

Government-backed report says there’s huge ‘gold’ awaiting the UK in ‘them thar AI hills’…

Posted 16 October 2017 by Gary Flood


The country’s nascent but already considerable capabilities in Artificial Intelligence (AI) need to be strengthened – and a key way to do this will be to open up huge public sector datasets to help fuel innovation in areas like healthcare.

That can and should be done with careful attention to strong legal safeguards – but it’s a task worth taking on, as the rewards could translate into as much as £630bn for the economy.

The suggestions – and predictions – comes from an independent study, Growing the Artificial Intelligence Industry in the UK which was published over the weekend.

Announced as part of the government’s overall Digital Strategy in March, the report has been produced by a multi-disciplinary, academic and industrial group led by Dame Wendy Hall, Professor of Computer Science at the University of Southampton, and Jérôme Pesenti, Chief Executive of a British technology company using AI to accelerate scientific discovery called BenevolentTech.

The report makes 18 specific recommendations for how to make the UK the best place in the world for businesses developing UK AI to start, grow, and has been welcomed by government, including by Culture Secretary Karen Bradley.

“I want the UK to lead the way in Artificial Intelligence [as it] has the potential to improve our everyday lives – from healthcare to robots that perform dangerous tasks,” she said.

“We already have some of the best minds in the world working on Artificial Intelligence, and the challenge now is to build a strong partnership with industry and academia to cement our position as the best place in the world to start and grow a digital business.”

Her government colleague Business Secretary Greg Clark added his endorsement: “This important review exemplifies the world-class expertise the UK already has in AI, demonstrating the huge social and economic benefits its use can bring.”

“AI has been around for a very long time as a concept and this latest surge of technological development is likely to see automation continue to escalate and accelerate in every walk of life,” said Hall.

“Now is the time for us all – scientists, researchers, entrepreneurs and the government – to come together and address the issues about how AI is going to impact society and seek ways to ensure that we’re able to deliver the great breakthroughs the technology has the potential to deliver.”

“By following these recommendations, government, academia and industry can help strengthen the UK’s position in the global AI market,” added her study group colleague, Pesenti.

“Our proposals are deliberately specific and boil down to three fundamentals – enable better access to data, create a greater supply of AI skills and promote the uptake of AI.”

The study includes multiple examples of how AI is already starting to aid British businesses, citizens and consumers in a variety of fields, from health to banking to driving to education.

One interesting area is in the area of the law, say the team, with AI helping lawyers to do legal searches and to draft the best standard documents, City law firm Pinsent Masons has developed its own team of computer scientists and legal engineers to put AI into practical context for its lawyers, for example.