New UK Science Secretary, , has put AI at the heart of the
government's agenda to deliver change, sustained economic growth
and improved public services.
The Secretary of State has today (26 July), appointed Tech
entrepreneur and Chair of Advanced Research And Invention Agency
(ARIA), Matt
Clifford, to kickstart this work. He will deliver a new
AI Opportunities
Action Plan to identify ways to accelerate the use of
AI to improve
people's lives by making services better and developing new
products.
As well as exploring how to build a UK AI sector that can scale and
compete on the global stage, the plan will also set out how to
boost take up of the technology across all parts of the economy,
and consider the necessary infrastructure, talent, and data
access required to drive adoption by the public and private
sectors.
The Action Plan will play a vital role in driving up productivity
and kickstarting economic growth. Estimates from the
International Monetary Fund (IMF) show that while the
exact economic impact hinges on the wider development and
adoption of AI, and
realisation could be gradual, the UK could ultimately see
productivity gains of up to 1.5 percent annually.
Matt Clifford will deliver a set of recommendations to the
Science Secretary in September. Alongside this, Department for
Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT)
– acting as the digital centre of government - will also
establish an AI
Opportunities Unit to bring together the knowledge and expertise
to take full advantage of AI and implement recommendations
from the Action Plan.
Science Secretary said:
We're putting AI at
the heart of the government's agenda to boost growth and improve
our public services.
Matt Clifford brings a wealth of experience and shares my
ambition when it comes to realising the opportunities of
AI, using it to
drive growth and improve people's lives.
Together we will use AI to drive productivity and
economic growth in every part of the country so we can make
everyone better off.
Chancellor of the Exchequer said:
Growing our economy and rebuilding Britain to make everyone
better off is our number one mission - and artificial
intelligence has the potential to raise productivity and help us
do that.
Our AI Opportunities
Unit will unlock its full potential to grow a more productive
economy, create good jobs across the country and deliver the
excellent public services that people deserve whilst saving
taxpayers money”.
Matt Clifford said:
AI presents us with
so many opportunities to grow the economy and improve people's
lives. The UK is leading the way in many areas, but we can do
even better.
I'm excited to start work and develop an ambitious road map to
identify the biggest opportunities and support the new government
as it makes important choices about where to focus its efforts.
The action plan starts today and will engage key figures across
industry and civil society to help in its development.
The Action Plan will also consider key enablers such as the UK's
compute and broader infrastructure requirements by 2030, how this
infrastructure is made available for start-ups and scale-ups and
how to develop and attract top AItalent in the public and
private sector.
The announcement follows the Science Secretary making his first
visit since being appointed to the role, where he recently met
staff at the Government Digital Service (GDS) and Central Digital and
Data Office (CDDO), who have newly
become part of the Department for Science, Innovation and
Technology.
Notes to editors
