The first day of September should have marked the beginning of one of the busiest periods of the year for Jaguar Land Rover. It was a Monday, and the release of new 75 series number plates was expected to produce a surge in demand from eager car buyers. At factories in Solihull and Halewood, as well as at its engine plant in Wolverhampton, staff were expecting to be working flat out. Instead, when the early shift arrived, they were sent home. The production lines have remained idle ever since.

It's easy to miss good news amid coverage of the pandemic, the rising cost of living and the, ahem, rest. However, the United Kingdom is getting something right. On Thursday, the government announced that it is investing up to £23m to boost artificial intelligence (AI) skills by creating up to 2,000 scholarships across England. This will fund masters conversion courses for people from non-Stem (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) degrees. "This will attract a less homogeneous group," explains Tabitha Goldstaub, who chairs the government's AI council and advises the Alan Turing Institute, "which means the UK AI ecosystem benefits from graduates with different backgrounds, perspectives and life experiences".

A new initiative to shape international standards for Artificial Intelligence (AI) was launched last week by the UK government, as part of its strategy to become a global AI power. The "AI Standards Hub" will focus on governance and guidance and falls under the National AI Strategy that aims to increase Britain's contribution to development of global AI technical standards. The Alan Turing Institute, the London-based data science and AI organisation, has been selected to lead the pilot with support from the British Standards Institution and National Physical Laboratory. "The new AI Standard Hub will create practical tools for businesses, bring the UK's AI community together through a new online platform, and develop educational materials to help organisations develop and benefit from global standards," the government announced, adding that the move puts the country at the "forefront" of a rapidly developing industry. "On the face of it, the AI Standards Hub offers some substance to the government's claims of Britain being a tech power and paves the way for it to play a leadership role in shaping AI at the global level," London-based political risk analyst Mikhail Sebastian told TRT World.

Despite scepticism over the cost-effectiveness of new technologies, and the worries surrounding the potential difficulty of their installation, many companies in the UK are deciding to use emerging tech such as artificial intelligence (AI). This is according to a new report by Genesys, which claims almost two thirds (60 per cent) of UK firms are either using AI already, or planning to do so within a year from now. More than a third (37 per cent) are already using such tech to drive business objectives, increase efficiency and cut costs, while 42 per cent expect to see a positive impact within 12 months. But scepticism and worry remain. A significant portion of UK employers believe implementation will be too complex, and a quarter has its doubts whether or not the tech is over-hyped.

Businesses in the UK need to move beyond tinkering with artificial intelligence (AI) and get on with seriously harnessing the technology at scale to compete on the global stage, a report by Microsoft has said. The tech giant has found that organisations already using AI at scale are performing better than those which are not, by making them more productive, showing higher profitability and producing better business outcomes. But it warned that there is a clear and widening gap between companies using it fully and those still in the early testing phase or simply not implementing it at all. It fears firms being cautious because of the current political uncertainty could miss out, with the retail sector among the weakest adopter surveyed, while financial services have ramped up their approach to AI. Some 43% of the finance-related companies who participated in the study said they used AI for more automation this year, compared with 28% the year before.

Over the last few weeks, Computer Weekly has looked at how a number of organisations are combining automation and artificial intelligence (AI) to deliver measurable business benefits. During the Microsoft Future Decoded event in London, the use of Microsoft tools, and Thoughtonomy's intelligent automation platform at East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust, were used to demonstrate how AI and automation can combine to deliver benefits in the public sector. In logistics, Canandian transportation company Polaris Transportation is using AI and automation in a project to streamline the handling of scanned-in customs paperwork, enabling it to reduce many hours of manual work. The company used the WorkFusion intelligent automation platform to scan and "read" customs paperwork associated with cross-border shipping documents. According to Cindy Rose, CEO of Microsoft UK, more advanced organisations are accelerating their use of AI, which has enabled them to see its benefits on their bottom line.

Six in ten businesses believe automation will have a positive impact on businesses to help give them a competitive advantage. The majority of businesses believe that automation will increase productivity and give them a competitive advantage. That's according to research from Robert Half which found that six in ten businesses believe automation will drive productivity. Digital transformation and automation has allowed businesses to use artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics to enhance their performance on simplistic tasks to create a more efficient working environment, by helping businesses to become more efficient, productive and compete within their respective market areas. It was found that 87% of executives have already seen the positive impact that a growing reliance on technology can hold for organisations.

Revealing a disconnect in UK workplaces, 83% of leaders claim not to have been asked by staff about AI. The absence of transparency and open communication is fuelling fears about job security among workers while, at the same time, preventing them from understanding exactly how AI can help augment their roles. More than a third of staff (36%) would use the time they saved by using AI to learn new skills at work. Lord Clement-Jones, Chairman of the House of Lords Select Committee on AI, said: "There is absolutely no excuse for anybody in business, at whatever age, for not reinventing themselves in terms of really understanding how AI works." The rate of AI adoption also varies depending on sector, with financial services leading the way. Nearly three-quarters (72%) of the nation's finance leaders say their organisation is using AI – a 7% increase from 2018 and considerably higher than the national average of 56%. Half of leaders in the field want their organisation to be a leader in AI. More than half (51%) of manufacturing leaders who were interviewed for Microsoft's report said they were using AI, falling to 46% for healthcare and 43% for retail. Microsoft has launched a number of initiatives to boost the level of digital skills in the UK, including a free online AI Business School enabling executives to learn about strategies and use of AI at their own pace in their own time.

The opening up of data is the necessary step to promote Artificial Intelligence (AI) adoption across all UK economy sectors. According to Margot James, minister of state for the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport "The full benefits to society and the economy that can come from Artificial Intelligence (AI) can only be realised if it is widely used,". Additionally in terms of planning, "That means government working together with industry to seize the prize of a reported additional £232bn on GDP by 2030." "Data is a critical part of our national digital infrastructure and fundamental, of course, to AI," said James. "Without access to good quality data from a range of sources, AI technologies cannot deliver on that promise of better, more efficient and seamless services. Government is really committed to opening up more data in a way that makes it reusable and easily accessible."

The Association for Project Management (APM) is an award-winning registered educational charity with over 27,000 individual members and 500 corporate partners, making it the largest professional body of its kind in Europe. Following a landmark two years, the APM is evolving. The receipt of their Royal Charter in 2017 marked a significant step for the organisation's development and 2018 saw them announce their first cohort of Chartered Project Professionals (ChPPs) covering nearly 50 different sectors. These milestones have helped lay the foundations for APM to build on their success and perfectly sets up 2019 to be another transformational year. Leading this exciting transformation, since being appointed as Chief Executive in August 2018, is Debbie Dore and with more than three years' experience at APM, she, more than anyone, recognises the impact the organisation can have for project management.