Independent report

Executive summary

Published 6 January 2021

As Artificial Intelligence (AI) becomes embedded in people’s lives, the UK finds itself at a pivotal moment. Estimates show that AI could deliver a 10% increase in UK GDP in 2030.^{[footnote 1]} If approached correctly, this would offer huge benefits to the economy, to recovery and resilience, the environment and for people from all walks of life across all parts of the UK. This summary report by the AI Council sets out long-term ambitions and suggests near-term directions for all government departments, with the aim of cementing the UK as one of the very best places in the world to live with, work with and develop AI.

The UK starts from a place of strength in research, enterprise and regulation, and with its history of recent support for AI it stands among the best in the world. The UK government’s ambition should push for scale and reliability in areas of unique advantage. To be influential in attracting talent, shaping global markets and global governance we call on the government to build a UK National AI strategy that scales up its investment for a decade and beyond.

This report has two underlying messages. The first is that we need to “double down” on recent investment the UK has made in AI. The second message is that we must look to the horizon and be adaptable to disruption. Support for AI needs to reflect the rapid pace and evolution of the science & technology and its applications. This means staying at the forefront of the development of AI and integrating approaches to ethics, security and social impacts and planning for the next 10-50 years. The UK will only feel the full benefits of AI if all parts of society have full confidence in the science and the technologies, and in the governance and regulation that enable them. That confidence will depend on the existence of systems that ensure full accountability, clear ethics and transparency. Developing the best science and the most robust applications requires commitment to an ambitious programme of investment in talent; one that promotes cutting edge skills and does so in ways that makes AI accessible in ways that are more diverse and inclusive.

Given the breadth and significance of potential AI applications, this Roadmap is concerned with overcoming the challenges of enabling change. It sets out suggested directions across three pillars: Research, Development & Innovation; Skills & Diversity, and Data, Infrastructure & Public Trust - and then, in the final section, addresses some specific measures to support adoption and the key areas of health, climate and defence.

This Roadmap and its recommendations reflects the views of the Council as well as 100+ additional experts. We recognise it will not be possible to achieve all at once, and this is why a National AI Strategy is needed to prioritise and set a time frame that will position the UK for success. In order to support the government, we are ready to convene workshops with the wider ecosystem in order to capture more detail and work together to ensure that a future National AI Strategy enables the whole of the UK to flourish.

16 Recommendations to help the government develop a National AI Strategy

Research, Development & Innovation

1. Scale up and make sustainable public sector investment in AI; ensure consistent access to top talent from around the world; and find new ways to bring researchers, disciplines and sectors together. Build on the commitments in the government’s R&D Roadmap ^{[footnote 2]} and suggestions in the soon to be published UKRI AI review.^{[footnote 3]}

2. Cement The Alan Turing Institute as a truly national institute, with a set of regional investments that draw on strengths from across the UK. Provide assured long term public sector funding that will give the Turing and others the confidence to plan and invest in strategic leadership for the UK in AI research, development and innovation.

3. Ensure moonshots, as described in the R&D Roadmap as challenge-led, high-risk, scalable programmes, are both advancing and leveraging AI. These could tackle fundamental challenges such as creating “explainable AI”, or important goals in any area where AI can contribute strongly, such as the UK Digital Twin program or developing smart materials for energy storage in the move towards Net Zero carbon emissions.

Skills and Diversity

1. Scale up and commit to an ongoing 10 year programme of high level AI skill-building. This would include research fellowships, AI-relevant PhDs across disciplines, industry-led Masters and level 7 apprenticeships.

2. Make diversity and inclusion a priority. We suggest benchmarking and forensically tracking levels of diversity to make data-led decisions about where to invest and ensure that underrepresented groups are given equal opportunity and included in all programs.

3. Commit to achieving AI and data literacy for everyone. The public needs to understand the risks and rewards of AI so they can be confident and informed users. An Online Academy for understanding AI, with trusted materials and initiatives would support teachers, school students and lifelong learning.

Data, Infrastructure and Public Trust

1. Consolidate and accelerate the infrastructure needed to increase access to data for AI. Invest in the relevant organisations, link general principles to specific applications, and pursue initiatives for pump priming innovation and enabling safe data sharing for valuable uses.

2. Lead the development of data governance options and its uses. The UK should lead in developing appropriate standards to frame the future governance of data.

3. Ensure public trust through public scrutiny. The UK must lead in finding ways to enable public scrutiny of, and input to, automated decision-making and help ensure that the public can trust AI.

4. Thoughtfully position the UK with respect to other major AI nations. Building on its strengths, the UK has a crucial opportunity to become a global lead in good governance, standards and frameworks for AI and enhance bilateral cooperation with key actors.

National, Cross-sector Adoption

1. Increase buyer confidence and AI capability across all sectors and all sizes of company. Support investment for local initiatives to enable safe value-creating innovation and improve the data maturity needed for AI innovation.

2. Support the UK’s AI startup vendor community. Enable greater access to data, infrastructure, skills, compute, specialist knowledge and funds.

3. Enable robust public sector investments in AI, building capability in the use of data, analytics and AI to ensure intelligent procurement of AI as part of projects for public benefit.

4. Use AI to meet the challenges of Net Zero carbon emissions. Work on access to data, governance, to develop cleaner systems, products and services.

5. Use AI to help keep the country safe and secure. Work with government departments/agencies and defence and security companies to ensure AI is available to assess and respond to modern defence and security threats and opportunities.

6. Build on the work of NHSX and others to lead the way in using AI to improve outcomes and create value in healthcare. The UK’s comparative advantage will depend on smart strategies for data sharing, new partnership models with SMEs and skill-building.

1. The economic impact of artificial intelligence on the UK economy PwC (June 2017) ↩

2. UK Research and Development Roadmap UK Government (July 2020) ↩

3. UKRI AI review: Transforming our world with AI ↩