Artificial Intelligence developments have the potential to improve everyday lives and boost the UK economy by over £600bn, according to a new industrial review.
An independent review, published on behalf of the AI sector brings together the views of industry and academia experts, urging the government to boost AI development across the UK.
The review includes a range of proposals for the government and industry from the AI sector, outlining how the UK can stay competitive by developing and growing the use of AI across public sector organisations.
In doing so, it will boost productivity across organisations, according to experts in the AI sector, by improving services across the country for both customers and business to better the industry and economy by £630bn.
Proposals from the industry include development across smarter scheduling of operations within the health sector, which will help practitioners and patients get the
best and most efficient care possible. Other areas include the ability of hiring on-demand self-driving cars.
Culture Secretary Karen Bradley said: “I want the UK to lead the way in Artificial Intelligence. It has the potential to improve our everyday lives – from healthcare to robots that perform dangerous tasks.
“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.”
The proposals work alongside the recommendations for AI technology set out in a government strategy earlier this year. These include, improving workers skills across the UK through a master’s programme to bring a wider variety of workers to industries.
Other areas include ensuring organisations are confident that AI data is safe and secure by making it more readily available, as well as ensuring the uptake of businesses is increased by helping businesses understand just how AI can improve productivity to make better products and services.
Additionally, research is key to thriving across the economy by building on the UK’s AI research to date, including making the Alan Turing Institute a national institute for AI.
Earlier in January, the government published its Industrial Strategy Green Paper, identifying AI as a key opportunity for the UK to build more opportunities in the hope to become a ‘world-leading’ sector of the UK economy in the future.
Many sectors across the UK have already heavily invested in AI to better customer experience, such as health care, banking and education.
Education sectors can benefit from AI as personalised education programmes can be created, tailored specifically to students to improve the delivery of content.
In other areas such as banks, AI has been used with a ChatBot to assist customers with enquiries giving bankers more time to spend on in-depth tasks and leave basic admin work to the technology.
It is no surprise the government is urging a boost in AI development, as it has already multiple benefits across the UK to both businesses and consumers.
Using the technology, businesses can protect themselves using AI in CCTV cameras to better computer vision, which will improve safety. Banks can protect customers from spam and banking fraud, as well as minute details of personal shopping recommendations being given to customer using data.
– NHS 111 service trials the technology
– Local Police successfully use AI
Having such a great effect on businesses has boosted the need of development and Greg Clark, Business Secretary, said: “Artificial intelligence presents us with a unique opportunity to build on our strengths and track record of research excellence by leading the development and deployment of this transformational technology.
“We will continue to work with the sector in the coming months to secure a comprehensive Sector Deal that make the UK the go to place for AI and helps us grasp the opportunities that lie ahead.”
The urge to the government comes following an industry-led review, detailing plans to supercharge the AI industry across the UK.
Although the government is being urged to develop AI technology across industries to better the economy, there are also elements of the technology that bring concerns to the UK sectors.
Mark Barrenechea, CEO at OpenText said: “Thanks to parallel processing, big data, cloud technology, and advanced algorithms, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning are becoming more powerful.
“In many cases, the intelligence these systems deliver will be more accurate, immediate and safer than humanly capable.
“But many jobs will disappear through automation and as the enterprise becomes more automated and intelligent every job in every industry will be impacted by machine learning. Recommendation engines and robo-advisors are already becoming a reality in financial services.
“For businesses, understanding cognitive systems, big data analytics, machine learning technology, and AI – and how to leverage them – will be critical for survival. In the short term, these technologies will give organisations faster access to sophisticated insights, empowering them to make better decisions and act with agility to outpace their competitors.”
