London Tech Week is a chance to take the lead on AI
Rapid advancements in AI – if matched by agile government policy, infrastructure investment, and responsible adoption across both private and public sectors – presents a transformative opportunity for the UK, says Leon Butler
The pace of change in technology is moving faster than it ever has – but slower than it ever will. This presents enormous opportunities – and challenges – for decision makers in every boardroom and across government.
Against this backdrop, as CEOs grapple with rapid changes in AI, it feels like an especially significant moment in the UK. The global great and good of the tech world assemble next week at London Tech Week in Olympia and at connected events such as the AI Summit over in Tobacco Dock. The government is also poised to reveal its spending commitments and how it plans to use new technology and foster its wider adoption.
Top of mind at all these gatherings will be the latest AI and how it can be used to boost productivity, spark innovation and help lift economic growth. And how it needs to be trusted and used responsibly, in areas including retail, healthcare and the public sector.
Later this month, eyes will turn to Westminster where the government has promised more meat on the bones of the AI Opportunities Action Plan it unveiled in January. Industry leaders, including myself, have welcomed the plan but we now need to see the government focus special effort and to drive action in areas like infrastructure.
AI growth zones
For example, AI growth zones, if designed well, provide an ideal opportunity to encourage the development of thriving ecosystems of existing tech companies and start-ups around infrastructure investment – with government providing incentives, support and services.
We know from our landmark partnership with the UK’s Science and Technology Research Council, at Daresbury in Cheshire, that this model can work successfully.
The laudable aim of the plan is to position the UK as a leading AI economy, bringing together government, industry and academia. IBM is embedded in the UK, operating here for 75 years, and stands ready to play its part.
We also await, before MPs pack their bags for summer, the publication of the Comprehensive Spending Review, Industrial Strategy and Technology Adoption Review. This critical flurry of announcements will herald a clearer direction of travel.
But new policy and investment must remain flexible given the pace of change. For instance, it’s only recently that CEOs and CIOs, having sped through the A-Z of generative AI, have turned their attention to the possibilities of ‘agentic’ AI.
These agents represent another major stage in the AI revolution. Shifting from AI that can chat with you, to AI that can do work for you – with unprecedented autonomy.
Our clients are already beginning to see the benefits of using agents – such as IBM’s watsonx Orchestrate – and how they can automate complex tasks, gain insights and drive productivity across functions like HR, finance, IT, procurement and customer service. This offers a potential game changer across the economy – and ergo UK GDP as a whole.
Indeed, the responsible use of trusted AI agents will feature highly at today’s IBM Think London client conference at Central Hall, Westminster.
Polling suggests that the penny has dropped, quickly.
The IBM Institute for Business Value’s latest CEO Study shows that UK and Ireland leaders are actively embracing agentic AI to supercharge business growth. Almost two thirds of CEO respondents say their organisation is actively adopting AI agents and prepared to implement them at scale.
Six out of ten CEOs say they are pushing their organisation to adopt generative AI more quickly
Despite disruption from market shifts and evolving customer behaviour, nearly six out of 10 say they are pushing their organisation to adopt generative AI more quickly than some people find comfortable.
CEOs are taking the lead in deploying generative and agentic AI in their everyday worlds, to increase productivity and improve customer service. But they are mindful of the guardrails and precision and size of the language models used. Trust and transparency are key.
Leveraging these tools is equally critical for the public sector, to help patients get more GP appointments or to deliver citizen services like benefits and driving licences more efficiently.
The government is, rightly, focused on growing the UK economy.
A huge boost to national GDP is within our grasp if the clink and chatter at London Tech Week, backed by supportive government policy, mobilises the necessary talent and funding to greatly expand the use of responsible AI.
Leon Butler is chief executive of IBM UK and Ireland