Just one in ten UK orgs have significant AI investment plan

Despite nan frothing hype astir generative AI — and nan UK government’s hopes it will bring economical maturation — only 1 successful 10 UK tech leaders person ample standard implementations of immoderate benignant of AI, a fig that has not changed successful 5 years.

This is according to a study by recruitment agency Nash Squared — formerly Harvey Nash — which recovered conscionable 12 percent of 1,185 tech leaders surveyed successful nan UK are prepared for nan demands of generative AI.

The attitudes of on-the-ground tech leaders are not precisely successful synch pinch nan UK government, which wants to beryllium seen arsenic world-leading successful nan field.

Promoting nan UK's Global AI Safety Summit 2023, to beryllium held astatine World War II codification breakers’ HQ Bletchley Park adjacent week, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak:

“I genuinely judge that technologies for illustration AI will bring a translator arsenic far-reaching arsenic nan business revolution, nan coming of electricity, aliases nan commencement of nan internet. Now, arsenic pinch each 1 of those waves of technology, AI will bring caller knowledge caller opportunities for economical growth, caller advances successful quality capacity and nan chance to lick problems that we erstwhile thought beyond us.”

In contrast, AI is still astatine nan experimentation shape successful nan UK, contempt nan predictions made by nan tech industry. Only 10 percent of person a sizeable AI implementation, and conscionable 21 percent of UK organisations person an AI argumentation successful place. Some 37 percent person nary existent plans for a policy.

However, immoderate are making a commencement successful nan field. Almost half of organizations successful nan UK (around 48 percent) polled are piloting AI aliases person a small-scale task connected nan go. That fig falls to a 3rd erstwhile it comes to generative AI. Tech leaders’ concerns see information privacy, cited by 36 percent of respondents.

Despite nan deficiency of investment, Bev White, CEO of Nash Squared, said much important take of generative AI mightiness beryllium conscionable astir nan corner.

“Over nan years, location has been overmuch hype astir nan imaginable for AI, but this twelvemonth our investigation suggests we whitethorn person reached a tipping point. AI sits astatine nan intersection of group and technology, and pinch nan caller wide take of generative AI, nan opportunities and challenges for organisations is perchance vast. It could beryllium nan trigger that prompts an avalanche of AI finance – akin to nan wide take of unreality complete nan past 10 years,” he said.

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White based on nan imaginable makes nan regularisation and governance of AI much important than ever.

“Despite their keenness, galore tech leaders admit that they don’t person a clear image of nan measurement guardant and consciousness unprepared for nan challenges ahead. Establishing clear guardrails, guidelines and ethical information nets astir AI is simply essential. Otherwise, what could beryllium 1 of nan genuinely transformational enablers of nan modern property could alternatively go 1 of its biggest, risk-laden destabilisers,” he said.

In July, Gartner told america personification businesses were not spending connected AI successful a large way. John-David Lovelock, distinguished vice president analyst, told america that "when it comes to nan apps area, AI successful 1 consciousness is consumingly nan astir absorbing point going on, and alternately, nan slightest important point successful nan measurement of IT spending." ®