London has the potential to be an Artificial Intelligence (AI) powerhouse according to some experts, but Londoners themselves may not be keen according to a new report.
The multitude of research laboratories, the announcement that Microsoft will be building a new AI hub in the capital, and the UK’s general openness to AI development have stoked belief that London could be a powerhouse alongside Silicon Valley.
This however comes as a new report by the Center for Data Innovation and PublicFirst found that while Britons were generally curious and interested about the state of AI, they were on the whole more anxious and nervous about it than they were last year.
Speaking on why this fear may have arisen, Ayesha Bhatti, a policy analyst at the Center for Data Innovation, said: “There is definitely a growing anxiety around AI compared to last year.
“In part that is driven around rhetoric that has been pushed at the moment and AI hype that has been going around the past 18 months.”
This bad reputation that AI has garnered could be due in part to it being used as a buzzword for the very large overarching field that contains both all the positives as well as some negatives, she agreed.
The joint briefing found just under two in five Britons felt curious or interested by AI while roughly a third felt anxious or worried, up from around just 25% last year.
The report generally found that while some see AI as a force for good that will improve productivity, education, healthcare, and research, others view it as a threat to jobs, privacy, and even democracy.
Bhatti added that: “It’s more around the lack of understanding of AI’s strengths and limitations as to why people are still a bit uncertain about AI.
“AI has a bit of a branding issue.”
She noted that policymakers and those within the AI and tech communities need to come together to try and communicate with the general public to help ease concerns and fears over AI development.
Bhatti also drew light to the fact that the dominant feeling reported in the report was one of curiosity.
She said: “It’s a good sign as it shows there is an appetite for integrating AI into our lives.”
On top of this, she pointed to how AI could be used to improve our lives in so many specific areas.
While AI can’t out-do humans in being generalists, at least right now, Bhatti says it’s in specific fields such as healthcare, justice, and defence where AI can shine.
The report also found that three in five Britons thought the idea of developing a superintelligence is dangerous, something many firms may be trying to achieve.
However, Bhatti dismissed these claims saying superintelligence is a long way away and, like the word AI, superintelligence had a scary sounding name to it and puts people on the defensive.
She instead said that the UK is actually very pragmatic about AI uptake and people are more worried about the immediate effects AI may have such as job losses.
A report by Goldman Sachs last year stated that AI could replace around the equivalent of 300 million jobs while some experts have said it could pose an existential threat to humanity.
However, Professor Yann LeCun, one of the ‘godfathers of AI’ has said that AI won’t permanently destroy jobs or take over the world as ultimately scientists won’t risk developing something with that level of potential.
This all comes as there are talks over London being an AI powerhouse due to many tech firms, such as Microsoft and Google, operating or seeking to operate major AI research facilities in the capital.
According to the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, the UK is home to over 3000 AI companies and had the third largest number of AI startups in the world between 2013 and 2022.
Robert Buxton, a software engineer from London, said the UK is in this prime position.
He said: “The UK has in the past shown to be more pro AI than the EU, which has shown a lot of intent to regulate which has scared away a lot of AI companies.”
Buxton highlighted that Apple Intelligence, Apple’s new AI program, would not be launching in the EU but would be in the UK.
He also noted that key innovator OpenAI chose to open its offices in the UK instead of inside the EU and Google’s DeepMind laboratory was based in the capital too.
All of these reasons, he said, could help London become a powerhouse for AI development.
Additionally, there are many leading AI conferences scheduled for the capital.
One of these conferences, The AI Summit London, to be next held in 2025, aims to bring talented figures across the industry to develop AI further.
Caroline Hicks, senior director of AI events at Informa Tech, said: “AI events serve as catalysts for innovation and collaboration, driving the advancement of technology while also fostering dialogue on ethical and societal implications.
“We believe The AI Summit London is more important now than ever before, as the AI revolution powers on and shapes the future of business and society.
“The show brings key business and government stakeholders together to ensure that innovation, change and progress within the technology industry continues to happen here in our city.”
Even sooner, this September will see the Open Data Science Conference in the capital which could pave the way for greater developments of AI in the city.
Much of this will also rely on the Government supporting AI development.
In response, Minister for AI and Digital Government, Feryal Clark, said: “We are committed to delivering real change for the British public and the services they use on a daily basis through the adoption of cutting-edge technologies like AI, which is already changing the world for the better.
“Public trust in the technology though is vital, and we cannot ignore its potential risks.
“That’s why, as set out in the King’s Speech, we will establish legislation to ensure the companies developing the most powerful models do so safely – building public trust so working people across the country can have faith in the technology which will transform their lives.”
With this now clear, only time will tell on whether London will become the AI powerhouse many expect it to be.
Featured Image Credit: ThisIsEngineering on pexels.com
