The rapidly growing field of artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to revolutionise our lives. 

Apple is the latest major tech player to announce a deepening of its involvement in this area, signalling a link-up with provider OpenAI that will see its ChatGPT functionality integrated into the Apple operating system later in 2024.

The move is intended to improve the performance of the Siri voice assistant and facilitate the generation of text and other content.

With AI already powering everything from self-driving cars to medical diagnosis tools, we look at how uptake of the technology is changing the UK.

AI growth and adoption in the UK

• The UK AI market is worth more than £16.8 billion, according to the US International Trade Administration, and is expected to grow to £801.6 billion by 2035.¹
• The number of UK AI companies has increased by over 600% over the last 10 years.²
• Around one in six UK organisations, totaling 432,000, have embraced at least one AI technology – according to government research.³
• 68% of large companies, 33% of medium-sized companies, and 15% of small companies have incorporated at least one AI technology.⁴
• Following a 10-week trial of computer vision technology, Marks & Spencer reported an 80% reduction in warehouse accidents.⁵
• Government data⁴ shows the most commonly adopted AI solutions in the UK focus on:

– data management and analysis (9%)

– natural language processing and generation (8%)

– machine learning (7%) 

– AI hardware (5%)

– computer vision and image processing and generation (5%).

• The IT and telecommunications sector has the highest AI adoption rate at 29.5%, closely followed by the legal sector at 29.2% The hospitality, health, and retail sectors have the lowest adoption rates, at around 11.5%.

Impact on economy and jobs

• The UK has an AI workforce of over 360,000.⁶
• AI contributed £3.7 billion to the economy in 2022.⁷
• Britain has twice the number of AI-based companies than any European nation.⁷
• The largest estimated net job gains from AI over the next 20 years are predicted to be in the UK’s health and social care sector.⁸
• Of the UK’s main regions, Greater London leads way in AI-focused companies, being home to 1,387 AI businesses as of June 2023.⁹
• London serves as the primary hub for AI startups in the UK, hosting companies including: DeepMind, Adbrain, and BenevolentAI, alongside prominent machine learning research groups at UCL, Kings, and Imperial College.

• Job listings across all sectors which mention AI advertise salaries 20% higher than those which don’t.

• The government estimates around 7% of existing UK jobs could be displaced over the next five years, rising to around 18% after 10 years and nearly 30% after 20 years – equivalent to around 2.2 million jobs.⁸

AI language models

• A Forbes Advisor poll found that 85% of Brits are aware of AI language models such as Chat GPT, Google Bard and Bing Chat.
• Since its introduction in November 2022, eight out of the 24 Russell Group universities have formally banned the use of ChatGPT and other AI language models.

Self-driving vehicles

• Self-driving vehicles are projected to be on UK roads by 2025, with £100 million worth of government funding committed to the goal to date.
• Forbes Advisor research found 85% of those polled had reservations about AI technology in cars.

AI research & development

• The UK government was ranked third in the 2023 global AI Readiness Index, and first in Western Europe. ¹⁰
• Since 2014, the government has allocated over £2.3 billion to various initiatives in the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI).¹¹
• In the 2023 spring budget, the UK government committed almost £1 billion of government funding towards AI research.¹²
• The UK plans to invest £900m in a cutting-edge supercomputer as part of an artificial intelligence strategy that includes ensuring the country can build its own ‘BritGPT’.¹³

Trends, outlook and concerns

• Forbes Advisor research found 59% of Brits have concerns about the use of artificial intelligence. 
• The main concerns were as follows:

Sources:

Primary data from Forbes Advisor was taken from a sample of 2,000 adults, representative of the UK population. It was commissioned by Forbes Advisor and conducted by market research company Opinium. Data was collected in May 2023.

1. https://www.trade.gov/market-intelligence/united-kingdom-artificial-intelligence-market-2023
2. https://www.great.gov.uk/campaign-site/uk-na-innovation/sectors/artificial-intelligence/
3. https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/itandinternetindustry/articles/understandingaiuptakeandsentimentamongpeopleandbusinessesintheuk/june2023
4. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/61d87355e90e07037668e1bd/AI_Activity_in_UK_Businesses_Report__Capital_Economics_and_DCMS__January_2022__Web_accessible_.pdf
5. https://www.protex.ai/post/marks-and-spencer-reduced-incidents-by-80-in-their-first-10-weeks-of-deployment#:~:text=This%20momentum%20led%20to%20an,incidents%20across%20the%20warehouse%20floor
6. https://thedatacity.com/rtics/artificial-intelligence-rtic0004/
7. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-unveils-world-leading-approach-to-innovation-in-first-artificial-intelligence-white-paper-to-turbocharge-growth
8. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1023590/impact-of-ai-on-jobs.pdf
9. https://thedatacity.com/blog/the-uks-top-artificial-intelligence-ai-hotspots/
10. https://oxfordinsights.com/ai-readiness/ai-readiness-index/
11. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-ai-strategy/national-ai-strategy-html-version
12. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-commits-up-to-35-billion-to-future-of-tech-and-science
13. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/mar/15/uk-to-invest-900m-in-supercomputer-in-bid-to-build-own-britgpt