Following the publication of the prime minister’s major national strategy for artificial intelligence, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology is leading the investment of £7m in SME use cases
A multimillion-pound government fund will enable the likes of bakers, farmers and road workers to test the ability of artificial intelligence tools to create efficiencies and improve productivity.
Government will invest £7m in AI projects that are aimed at helping small businesses “cut waste, move faster and be more productive”, technology secretary Peter Kyle has said.
A total of 120 projects across the country will receive a share of the funding. One project will look into how AI could cut food waste by allowing bakeries to accurately predict sales, and another will test the ability to predict potholes before they form, allowing for cheaper road reparations. Another initiative will look into how the technology could help ascertain where mould is likely to grow in buildings.
Kyle added: “The huge range of projects receiving funding today, from farmers and bakers to those tackling potholes on our roads and mould in residential properties, demonstrates the truly limitless benefits of AI that are there for the taking. And take them we will, with our 50-point AI Opportunities Plan… to unleash AI across the UK, delivering a decade of national renewal and firing up our Plan for Change.”
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The funding pot forms part of the UK Research and Innovation Technology Missions Fund, with the support being delivered by the Innovate UK BridgeAI programme. Launched in 2023, the BridgeAI programme was designed to help businesses in high growth potential sectors such as agriculture and construction, adopt the innovative technology.
The investment forms part of the Labour government’s plan to unlock the potential of the cutting-edge technology in the UK, and comes shortly after prime minister Keir Starmer revealed his government’s plan for AI to “transform the lives of working people”.
The plan outlined a series of measures that will see a quick rollout of AI across UK society, including new AI growth zones that will speed up planning permission for AI infrastructure and facilitate their connection to the grid.
A core element of the plan is a move to a new ‘Scan > Pilot > Scale’ approach to the adoption of AI across public services.
Measures undertaken via this approach will include efforts to “build a cross-government technical horizon scanning and market intelligence capability”, while also offering a “rapid prototyping capability”. Other initiatives will aim to bring more external AI experts into the civil service, as well as exploring how to improve procurement – with new generic processes, and “mission-focused national tenders” – and the potential “development of a scaling service that takes successful pilots and drives wide implementation” across government.

A version of this story originally appeared on PublicTechnology sister publication Holyrood