UK AI - Where are we now?

Back in October 2017, publication of the Hall & Pesenti review, Growing the Artificial Intelligence Industry in the UK, caused something of a stir – if subsequent actions are anything to go by. Seven months after the independent, government commissioned study hit ministers' desks, the AI Sector Deal was announced. Trumpeted as a £1 billion Whitehall vote of confidence in the industry – which has deep, historic roots in the UK – closer examination revealed it to be a more conservative £300 million of public funds backed by a promise of £700 million from industrial and academic partnerships. It still provided a welcome boost to the country's ambitions, even if the announcement itself was fumbled by the mandarins of SW1. At a Westminster eForum event in February 2018, the Deal was trailed for publication in early March. However, policymakers sat on it until May, when it finally emerged days after the EU had published its own AI strategy to the tune of €20 billion – a pointless and frustrating own goal for the UK.