To a packed audience at London Tech Week’s main stage, Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology Peter Kyle outlined how the government intends to shape the digital landscape.
His message was one of optimism, but also one that outlined the need for risk-taking to achieve results. He addressed the crowd with his ambitions toward a future that is “bright, bold and risky”.
In his speech, he revealed a government partnership between Imperial College and the World Economic Forum to open a global centre for AI-driven innovation in London, the first of its kind in Britain.
The focus shifted to how digital upgrades can be made to better the lives of the nation, such as automation to prevent long wait times for important messaging surrounding benefits and trawling web pages to for entrepreneurs who want to start new businesses.
The UK’s AI talent gap was also addressed, with Kyle referring to a national skills drive to give students the chance to have careers in AI, along with fellowships for research and partnerships with Aria and Pillar to attract top AI talent in labs.
Kyle also addressed in his speech how the UK has long been a country “short on ambition and long on apathy” when referring to the lack of capital available to tech firms for growth which – he says – motivated the government’s reforms in the digital space.
“Worrying about getting every aspect of change right, becomes a fear of change itself,” Kyle stated. “Fearing the challenge of change is the fastest route for a great nation to be mired in stagnation.”
The address inevitably veered onto the government’s Modern Industrial Strategy, with Kyle noting the £86bn funding in the UK’s R&D sector and the first-ever dedicated digital and technology sector plan to build a “faster and fairer economy”.
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