"Aircraft can operate safely in fog, but airports go into a kind of slow motion," says travel expert Simon Calder. "Aircraft follow a beam from the instrument landing system. This beam must not be broken, which could happen when it's foggy," he tells the BBC. And when there are high winds, for safety, aircraft have to be more spaced apart than usual. Despite Heathrow trialling artificial intelligence to help planes land in low visibility, controllers in on-ground towers still need to clearly see an aircraft arriving before issuing a landing clearance, aviation expert Scott Bateman MBE wrote on X.

The British government should offer tax breaks for businesses developing AI-powered products and services, or applying AI to their existing operations, to "unlock the UK's potential for augmented productivity", according to a new University of Cambridge report. Researchers argue that the UK currently lacks the computing capacity and capital required to build "generative" machine learning models fast enough to compete with US companies such as Google, Microsoft or Open AI. Instead, they call for a UK focus on leveraging these new AI systems for real-world applications – such as developing new diagnostic products and addressing the shortage of software engineers, for example – which could provide a major boost to the British economy. However, the researchers caution that without new legislation to ensure the UK has solid legal and ethical AI regulation, such plans could falter. British industries and the public may struggle to trust emerging AI platforms such as ChatGPT enough to invest time and money into skilling up. The policy report is a collaboration between Cambridge's Minderoo Centre for Technology and Democracy, Bennett Institute for Public Policy, and ai@cam: the University's flagship initiative on artificial intelligence.

The UK has outlined a 10-year plan today to make the country a leader in Artificial Intelligence (AI), in a bid to draw in foreign investment and shape the way it is regulated globally. In the country's first AI strategy, which comes amid London Tech Week, the UK has proposed a new white paper on AI regulation. There are also plans to launch a new national programme to support research and development – which the government said it would raise investment in to 2.4 per cent of GDP by 2027 in its AI Sector Deal earlier this year. With the UK's ambition to use technology as one of its post-Brexit selling points, a fresh approach to AI could help stop online banking fraud, speed up disease diagnosis and unlock the potential for driverless cars. "The UK already punches above its weight internationally and we are ranked third in the world behind the USA and China in the list of top countries for AI," Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) Minister Chris Philip said, adding that the strategy will help the UK "seize the potential of artificial intelligence and play a leading role in shaping the way the world governs it." It comes ahead of the upcoming National Cyber Strategy which is set to continue pushing for building security into the development of AI.

The AI Council has published a "roadmap" of advice for government in respect of developing a UK state strategy for artificial intelligence (AI). Eye-catchingly, it advocates what it calls "moonshots" that "could tackle fundamental challenges such as creating'explainable AI' and developing smart materials for energy storage". The council is a non-statutory body chaired by Tabitha Goldstaub, consisting of 20 people from academia and industry, including Wendy Hall, professor of computer science at the University of Southampton, Marc Warner, the CEO of AI consultancy firm Faculty, and Adrian Smith, chief executive of The Alan Turing Institute. The council was launched in 2018, on the back of the government's response to a House of Lords AI report that recommended the UK pick ethics as a realistic niche in the related fields of artificial intelligence and machine learning. It was bolstered in 2019 with recruits from online retailer Ocado and the Independent Commission on Freedom of Information.

The UK has been at the cutting edge of artificial intelligence (AI) innovation, from Alan Turing, the pioneering mathematician and computer visionary, who launched the field, to DeepMind's AlphaGo, the first computer program to defeat a professional Go player in 2015. Several pioneering AI companies were founded in the UK, including DeepMind, SwiftKey and Magic Pony, all of which were acquired by US companies – Google, Microsoft and Twitter – for $500 million, $250 million and $150 million, respectively. Over the last few years, the UK government has launched its Office for AI and Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation. But is the UK still an AI leader? In 2019, McKinsey Global Institute placed the UK in the top quartile for "AI readiness".

We are living through a new industrial revolution in which artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) permeate all industries and sectors of our economy, enhancing the impact and value of businesses worldwide. The UK has acknowledged this, and consequently is heavily investing in these technologies. But despite numerous successes, there have also been many failed AI projects that simply did not provide the expected return on investment. In many cases, the reasons for these failures are mismatched expectations and the overselling of AI's capabilities. Businesses must be better informed and trained to understand the limitations and expectations of what can be achieved when harnessing AI to solve their problems.

The next generation of UK scientists have been backed by government today (Thursday 24 October) to develop the latest Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies that will transform how people live and work and help tackle some of the world's most pressing challenges. A combined government and industry investment of £370 million will deliver 2,700 new PhD places in biosciences and AI. Of this, £200 million will fund 1,000 new PhD places over the next 5 years to study AI which could help diagnose diseases like cancer earlier and make industries, including aviation and automotive, more sustainable. The first 200 students will be studying at 14 universities across the country, working closely with 300 leading businesses, including AstraZeneca, Google, Rolls-Royce and NHS Trusts. A further £170 million will fund 1,700 places to study PhDs in biosciences helping to tackle issues like feeding the world's growing population and helping people stay healthier for longer.

New research from McKinsey and Quantumblack suggests UK businesses adopting AI could see their value increase by 120 percent within a decade. AI overall could provide a 22 percent GDP boost worth millions to the UK economy, according to the research. However, the report warns that firms which do not integrate AI into their day-to-day business risk around 20 percent of their cash flow today. "By 2030, the average simulation shows that some 70 percent of companies might have adopted at least one type of AI technology but that less than half will have fully absorbed the five categories [computer vision, natural language, virtual assistants, robotic process automation, and advanced machine learning]." The UK is well-positioned to take advantage of AI and is the highest ranking country in Europe on McKinsey Global Institute's AI Readiness Index.

Britain's leading position in developing self-driving cars could produce a £62bn economic boost by 2030, the car industry claimed – but warned that such potential could be jeopardised by a no-deal Brexit. A report published by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said the UK has significant advantages over other countries in pushing connected and autonomous vehicles, including forward-looking legislation allowing autonomous cars to be insured and driven on a greater proportion of roads than elsewhere. Mike Hawes, the chief executive of the SMMT, said more than £500m had been invested in research and development by industry and government, and another £740m in communications infrastructure to enable autonomous cars to work. He said: "The opportunities are dramatic – new jobs, economic growth and improvements across society. The UK's potential is clear. We are ahead of many rival nations but to realise these benefits we must move fast."

Global telecoms tech firm Cisco has announced it will be investing $100m (£76.8m) Backed by Prime Minister Theresa May and digital secretary Jeremy Wright to run in tandem to the government's industrial strategy, Cisco will partner with University College London (UCL) to open one of the world's largest research centres for AI. The centre will become a hub for addressing ways to integrate AI into British industry by housing more than 200 UCL academics and researchers, as well as developing up and coming AI talent. Announced this morning at Downing Street, May called the investment a "vote of confidence" in the government's industrial strategy. "We believe that the UK's expertise in AI and its commitment to making sure future innovators have the right digital skills will help ensure the nation's citizens are well-positioned to capture the opportunity ahead," said Chuck Robbins, Cisco's chairman and chief executive.