Sir Keir Starmer Set To ‘Unleash AI’ – What Does It Mean For UK Business?
UK Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, has made it clear in a recent speech that he intends to make the most of Artificial Intelligence moving forward. In fact, the PM argued that if the UK did not start seriously investing time and money into AI, then we would soon become a country that buys AI tech and solutions from others, rather than being at the forefront of creating them. Discussing the “vast potential” of AI, the PM argued that it could “transform the lives of working people”. But what does that mean for UK Businesses?
The PM’s AI Plan
It’s the Prime Minister’s plan to ensure AI is utilised across the UK to boost growth and deliver efficient services. Part of the plan to do this involves bringing AI jobs to the UK – which too often are found abroad in places like China and the US today. One way in which the PM says this will be achieved is through the AI Opportunities Action Plan, which is backed by key tech firms and offers £14 billion in committed funding for AI projects, which would also create over 13,000 AI-related jobs right here in the UK.
It’s also the PM’s plan that AI should touch the lives of every working person in the UK; making AI “work for working people” is a top priority. In essence then, Sir Keir Starmer is trying to put the UK at the fore of AI and is actively encouraging UK businesses to do the same.
How Can Business Owners Prepare For AI
Really there are 6 key things you can do right now to prepare for when AI is ‘unleashed’ in the UK:
1. Education
One of the best things a UK business owner can do now to get their team ready for an AI revolution is to educate them. Educate them on the different AI tech and software that’s already out there and teach them how this is already making a difference to your industry.
It’s best to focus on specific industry use cases to encourage your workers to adapt their working style slightly by embracing AI. For many workers there can be anxieties around AI ‘taking their jobs’. By educating your team about the ways AI can make their jobs easier, they’ll see that AI isn’t capable of replacing them, but simply supporting them in the workplace.
2. Re-Skill
When it comes to AI, re-skilling is key. You’ll need to teach your workers new ways of working, to show them how their job can be done more efficiently by embracing AI. Re-skilling involves learning a new skill, even if that’s just a new way of achieving the same results – often resulting in a more streamlined process.
Look at how you can teach your staff new ways of implementing AI into their more menial tasks. They may find a quicker way of doing things, unlocking their creativity for other more important tasks that require a bit more involved thinking.
3. Up-Skill
Up-skilling isn’t learning a new skill, it’s taking skills your workers already have and then looking at ways to enhance their skillset – in this case, by implementing AI.
Perhaps up-skilling is where you, as a business owner, can get the most out of AI. Rather than looking for the shiniest new example of AI software, you can instead focus on how AI can add to your employees’ skills already. This isn’t about taking a task from your staff and giving it to AI to solve, but instead involves you really thinking about which areas of the business could benefit most from AI support. Once you have those answers, you can collaborate with your staff and find which areas they could use support with to make sure your business is working as efficiently as possible.
4. Look At Competitors
This is also key in preparing for AI to enter your business. You know your competitors. You know what a competitive advantage looks like in your field. Use it.
What we mean here is that whether your competitors are using AI successfully, unsuccessfully, or not at all in their business, you can learn a lot from their approach to AI and respond accordingly to make sure it’s your business that has the competitive edge over them and not the other way around.
AI is the future in many UK businesses and the job market will undoubtedly look very different in the coming years – not because AI is taking jobs, but being able to make use of AI will be integral to many roles. You can gain a real advantage over your competitors today by investing in talent that’s familiar with, or keen to get to grips with, AI.
5. Talk To The Pros
There are plenty of AI specialists out there, and even if your business isn’t in a position to hire one of your own right now, you should at least speak with the pros to get to know how AI could support your business and your workers.
Better yet, have an AI specialist come in and talk with your workers. They’ll be able to answer any questions your workers have, offer any reassurances if they are concerned and really get to grips with your business and how AI could make a difference to it whilst they’re there.
6. Set AI Standards
Finally, it’s important to note that AI is relatively new – at least in terms of its general use among businesses. That means you need to set some standards and rules around the use of AI in your workplace. For example, if you’re a business which creates and sells artwork online, you’ll probably want to make it clear that AI can be used for idea generation and inspiration, but that AI-generated images should never be submitted as a final piece.
Even if you’re not in a creative industry, it’s important to think about what good and bad AI usage looks like for your business. Set guidelines and standards early so that AI can’t be exploited by employees.
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