Does the UK have the ability to adapt to the AI revolution?

Cassandra MacDonald discusses whether the UK currently has the capacity and ability to embrace technological advancement. As AI becomes more prominent across the economy and within the workforce, are we overestimating our ability to adapt?

Artificial Intelligence can no longer be described as a developing or new technology. In recent years, it has quickly but surely become an ever-present part of daily life. Whether it be the use of large language models to facilitate research tasks in the workplace or artificial intelligence chatbots that are used to improve customer service.

The adoption of artificial intelligence in daily life has and will continue to be revolutionary in the same way the creation and use of the internet was 30 years ago. Although still relatively nascent, research suggests that the use of artificial intelligence is already fairly commonplace, with a global survey of 32,000 workers around the world finding that almost 60% of employees use AI intentionally at work.

However, what is crucial to understand and what will be beneficial for businesses is not just the adoption of artificial intelligence within the workplace but how effective it actually is at present.

A separate piece of research recently found that 91% of executives and technology workers believe they had the skills to use AI in their daily roles, however, over three quarters admitted to pretending they knew more about AI than they actually do.

Artificial intelligence will revolutionize the way the UK economy operates. Whether that be through the creation of jobs, making roles redundant or enhancing and changing the way professions are viewed, the scope for change is limitless. However, the full benefits of AI will only be harnessed by employees and employers if they are utilising it effectively and have the skills in place to do so, and a number of challenges remain.

Regional Skills Gaps

The regional skills gap poses a major challenge to widespread adoption. Outside of technology hubs such as London and Cambridge, the presence of skilled workers in AI-related fields remains low. An economy built on the back of emerging technologies must address these widening gaps in skillsets if we are to fully embrace the potential of artificial intelligence. This will begin with ensuring that training and skills is accessible across the country and the distribution of technological capabilities is dispersed.

Regulatory Uncertainty, Ethical and Adoption Concerns

A major barrier beyond the discussion over skills is a sense of regulatory uncertainty. Businesses and in turn employees have been slow to adopt over concerns relating to what is and isn’t acceptable when using artificial intelligence. Heavily regulated sectors such as healthcare and financial services are not adopting AI at the same rates as other sectors because of this factor.

In a similar vein to uncertainty on the part of businesses, there is also growing uncertainty among employees and the wider public. Ethical concerns remain over the use of AI in the workplace, with 78% of the UK public believing that it should be more heavily regulated and 1 in 3 have a desire to learn more about ethics and responsible use of AI.

Education Lag

Crucially, the education system in this country is behind the rate of change we are seeing. Schools are simply not teaching or focusing on subjects and skills related to artificial intelligence and digital transformation. Within schools a lack of emphasis on STEM subjects and data literacy is coupled with a decreasing interest in science and computing among students. These institutional challenges must be addressed in order to ensure that the next generation of people entering the workforce are equipped with the skills needed to adapt and thrive.

In order to ensure everyone within the workforce is able to benefit from the inevitable changes, it is fundamental that as a society we have a rethink of the way the workforce operates in order to overcome these barriers. The notion of “Skills-Based Organisations” (SBO) is becoming increasingly prominent and an effective way to ensure that businesses are hiring people with the right skills, rather than fitting into traditional and rigid job descriptions.

In order to ensure that the skills the workforce possesses align with the opportunities that will be presented to businesses, hiring people and training existing staff in areas that will be needed in the future is crucial. Whether that be through completely retraining people across the country, or working with existing staff members to upskill them in areas that are becoming crucial to a business, it is vital that these efforts start now.

Broadly, whether the UK is currently in a position to adapt to the AI revolution is only part of the challenge. The real challenge lies in ensuring that businesses of all sizes and employees across all sectors are aware of the challenges and opportunities faced by the rising importance of artificial intelligence. For businesses, embracing comprehensive training programmes for staff will give them a competitive edge, alongside shifting to an SBO model that allows them to adapt as technology evolves will be the key to unlocking the advantages AI brings.

AI is already beginning to and will continue to change the way we work. Thinking beyond the present though and to how we will address the work of the future is key to successful businesses, employees and the economy. With collaborative thinking and policy from both employers and the Government that addresses our present skills mismatch, we will be able to achieve a competitive edge.

Cassandra MacDonald – Dean of BPP University School of Technology