The UK has only just begun to see the transformative potential of AI

Over the last year, our attention has been focused on a series of issues that are of global importance. Last year, Extinction Rebellion pushed climate change to the top of the agenda. This year, COVID-19 has made effective public health monitoring a priority. In recent weeks, anger at systemic racial injustice has fuelled public protests. While these are very different issues, they share something in common: they will not be addressed if we do not use data-driven technologies to understand, monitor and improve complex systems - whether that is the healthcare system, the justice system or the energy grid.