Government plans to “unleash” Artificial intelligence across the UK to deliver a decade of national renewal been cautiously welcomed by the business community.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer insists he is “throwing the full weight of Whitehall behind this industry” by agreeing to take forward all 50 recommendations set out by entrepreneur Matt Clifford in his AI Opportunities Action Plan.
AI is already widely in use across the UK; in hospitals to deliver better, faster, and smarter care, diagnosing the likes of breast cancer, getting people discharged quicker and helping to deliver the government’s mission to build an NHS fit for the future.
Church: more needed to ensure adoption
On a wider level, it is said to potentially transform the lives of working people, with further potential to speed up planning consultations and create so-called AI Growth Zones, where the Government would partner with the private sector to deliver large amounts of computing power to support “key national priorities” and create jobs.
Nigel Church, CEO of Emerge Digital, a Gloucester-based IT service provider, described it as a step in the right direction, but cautioned that the Government needs to be doing much more to increase AI adoption across the public sector.
“The £14bn investment is a good start, but it needs to be five times that to truly reflect the growth and cost-saving potential of AI,” he said. “The UK’s global leadership in cyber was built on investment in localised centres of excellence, so focusing investment through AI Growth Zones is a smart approach.
“The government should refocus on the Levelling-Up agenda of the previous government and review the industrial strategy to ensure it covers every region. It’s vital to consider how AI will impact industries and communities nationwide.”
He was also concerned that the global finance model would become a barrier. “US tech giants often acquire competitors, and we lack sufficient protection and funding for UK companies to grow and resist takeovers,” he said.
“The Competition and Markets Authority needs to do more to protect and nurture homegrown innovation. We need greater protections for UK innovators and an environment that attracts substantial investment beyond traditional levels. Look at Friends Reunited – it was a UK platform ahead of its time, but it lacked the support to scale in the way Facebook did.
Klein: UK needs to rejuvinate
“AI has the potential to transform public services, improving customer experience, reducing costs, and delivering better outcomes for citizens. However, ensuring the right infrastructure is in place is crucial so everyone can access and benefit from these innovations.”
Lawyer James Klein, Corporate partner at Spencer West said: “It is of real importance that AI be at the forefront of future growth for businesses and the economy. The UK needs to rejuvenate, and positively transform, its public services and infrastructure.
“It is imperative that we generate tangible future long-term growth for early-stage companies, as well as scale-ups at a time when there are many in the UK weighing up their options and looking to potentially take their businesses overseas as they reflect upon the UK as a whole, including the effect of upcoming tax increases brought about by the Budget.
“We must retain both our talent and our successful businesses which are often created out of our leading universities allowing them to meaningfully scale and grow to the size of those companies we see in other parts on the World.
“The AI Plan seems to be very sensible and includes, amongst other things, a focus on AI sovereignty which will pinpoint where the UK can compete and win; removing barriers to scaling necessary and relevant AI pilots in government and offering a route to regulatory reform and change to procurement to boost UK AI start-ups as well as AI growth zones with faster planning permission and grid connections.
Burlison: bold approach
“All in all, the UK’s AI Action Plan seems a very positive step in the right direction. However, as with everything, its implementation and appeal to all parts of the society will ultimately be the key to its success or the reason for its failure.”
Wayne Cleghorn, Data Protection, Cybersecurity and Artificial Intelligence Partner at Excello Law cautioned that “when talking about AI, economic growth and innovation, we should not make safety the bogey man. All can – and should – co-exist in a virtuous circle. If we are not saying safety first, are we saying unsafety first or high-risk AI poker playing first?
“Words matter: the term AI safety is vague and imprecise at best. We should say what we mean. Safety includes data protection, privacy, cybersecurity, accountable supply chains, environmental stewardship and high-quality inputs into artificial intelligence systems to reduce harms. These ingredients build trust, effectiveness and resilience, which are net positives.”
Rob Burlison, Director of International Corporate Affairs at Intuit QuickBooks said: “The Plan is a bold approach that could help unleash growth across the UK. Small businesses that are all-in on adopting AI are growing, competing, and achieving success on a larger scale.
“Our data shows that SMBs leveraging multiple AI tools report 2X revenue growth and 3X workforce growth versus those who don’t. Not only are those businesses experiencing growth, but AI can also support in increasing productivity. Our recent Accounting for the SMB Economy report found that SMBs spend 11 hours on average per week managing financial and accounting tasks, but that the use of AI could save them seven hours of time per week on average.
While we are excited about the UK government’s focus on unlocking the power of AI, we must not forget the increased threat this technology has created
“If the UK’s 1.1m micro businesses doubled their uptake of AI-powered digital tools, it would lead to a productivity boost of £16.6bn. By removing barriers to adoption, and providing additional support to small businesses, the government can achieve its growth mission.”
Others were similarly clear in their views:
Stuart Harvey, CEO of Datactics: “It’s important to remember that AI is only as good as the data it relies upon, and with thousands of organisations suffering from information overload, including duplication and outdated, erroneous files, high levels of risk could be incurred.”
“Organisations seeking to invest in and reap the benefits of AI need to think carefully about their long-term data strategy, so they can maximise opportunity and avoid the pitfalls which could arise from poorly managed data sets.”
Andrew Rose, CSO at SoSafe: “While we are excited about the UK government’s focus on unlocking the power of AI, we must not forget the increased threat this technology has created. AI is being deployed by criminals to create sophisticated phishing and social engineering attacks, widening the attack surface. In fact, 79% of cyber professionals identify AI as a significant concern.
“Indeed, even the benevolent AI that organisations adopt for their own benefit can become a new attack surface, subject to innovative attacks such as data poisoning. These internal AI tools could also mistakenly assist attackers in finding valuable information, key assets or help them bypass other controls. It is therefore critical that public-private partnerships to boost AI rollout must be supplemented with the appropriate security measures.”
