Maximising the AI Opportunity
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Maximising the AI opportunity How to harness the potential of AI effectively and ethically Contents 01 Foreword from Cindy Rose 03 Executive summary 07 Chapter 1: The state of AI in the UK 11 Chapter 2: Embrace AI’s potential or risk being left behind 21 Chapter 3: It’s not what AI can do but what it should do 33 Chapter 4: Developing tomorrow’s skills, today 43 Conclusion 47 Industry spotlight 63 Appendix Cindy Rose CEO, Microsoft UK rtificial Intelligence is becoming an and thinkers. Fast forward to today and are the business problems we want to Aever more important part of our we remain home to an internationally- solve – and how can AI help? What are the lives. Many of us are already familiar renowned academic research sector, opportunities we are missing? Is our data with its everyday applications, such as as well as some of the planet’s most ready? Are our people ready? And, if not, decluttering our inboxes with spam innovative companies. Add to that the how can we re-skill and re-train them so filters or receiving personalised shopping Government’s recent commitment to that technology augments their role rather recommendations. Yet, whether it is invest nearly £1 billion as part of its AI than simply automates it? powering a new generation of self-driving Sector Deal, and the UK is perfectly placed This last point is especially important. Foreword cars, guarding us against fraud or helping to become a global leader in AI. Indeed, we uncover a growing gap doctors better diagnose health conditions, But success tomorrow requires action between the number of employees calling AI’s transformational abilities are being for support in developing the skills to work felt in increasingly ubiquitous and today. Our research reveals that two in five with AI and the number of organisations innovative ways. of the UK’s business leaders believe their current business model will cease to exist in actually providing it. Nor does the impact of AI begin and five years’ time. Yet fewer than half of the Throughout the pages that follow, you end with our everyday experiences – it is UK organisations we spoke to have an AI will find practical guidance from various reshaping organisations and industries strategy in place. industry experts to help you begin, or too. Lengthy, complex, process-driven indeed continue, your organisation’s tasks that once took hours can now be Any organisation still unconvinced about own AI journey – from building an AI performed almost instantaneously. Vast the need to change and translate that plan and preparing staff, to selecting and data sets can be collected, analysed, and awareness into action need look no further implementing the right solutions for you. acted upon within minutes. Colleagues than one of the headline findings of this You can also contact us or one of our in multi-national organisations can report. Namely, organisations who are partners for further assistance. communicate using natural language investing in AI are already significantly processing to translate conversations outperforming those who are not. At Microsoft, our mission is to empower across multiple languages in real time. Meanwhile, organisations that are backing every person and every organisation on And customer experiences can be up technological investment with clear the planet to achieve more. In the case of streamlined and digitised across a wide ethical guidelines and commitments AI, that means helping UK organisations variety of sectors. around their use of AI are performing harness its potential both successfully and better still. responsibly. Wherever you are along that But amidst all this opportunity lies great path, we hope you find this report valuable responsibility. Only by applying AI in the But successful AI-led digital transformation in guiding the way ahead. right way can we unlock its extraordinary requires us to look beyond the technology potential for good. Given the state of itself – another key theme of this report. geopolitics, as well as the mercurial nature At Microsoft, we talk about putting people of the global economy, it is especially at the heart of our technology and it is vital that such technology is designed, our firm belief that adopting this human- developed, and deployed in ways that are centric approach can help organisations thoughtful and responsible. of all shapes, sizes, and sectors use AI to positively impact their business, Fortunately, the UK has long prided employees, and customers alike. itself on ethically grounded innovation. Historically, from Ada Lovelace to Alan Often, a good place to start the journey Turing, this nation has produced some towards unlocking the power of AI is with Cindy Rose of the world’s most progressive scientists asking questions. Questions like what CEO, Microsoft UK 01 02 n 2017, our report ‘Creating A Culture organisations across a variety of and impact. (See Figure 1). These five Iof Digital Transformation’ provided sectors, and how they can use it to dimensions are interconnected and unprecedented insight into the challenges optimise operations, engage customers, must be addressed symbiotically by any and opportunities facing UK organisations transform products, and empower organisation hoping to develop the right as they seek to evolve in line with rapidly employees in a way that is both effective AI strategy for itself and its stakeholders. advancing digital technologies. From and responsible. The dimensions also provide the framework adopting an agile mindset to embracing Before embarking on the study, we for this report. Through a combination fear of change, we explored what it conducted an extensive literature review, of interviews with industry experts across takes to create a true culture of digital drawing upon a wide range of respected the worlds of business, academia, and transformation in the modern workplace. research, behavioural models, and government, along with an extensive With the findings of that report in mind, reports. These included Microsoft’s ‘The barometer survey of 1,002 leaders and this year we take an in-depth look at one Future Computed: Artificial Intelligence 4,020 employees, we use them as a lens of the key technologies powering that and its role in society’, The House of through which to examine how successfully transformation: Artificial Intelligence (AI), Lords’ April 2018 report ‘AI in the UK: UK organisations are integrating AI into which we define as a set of technologies ready, willing and able?’, and the 2017 their working practices. Or, to put it in a that enable computers to perceive, learn, PWC report ‘The economic impact of wider context of organisational change, reason, and assist in decision-making to artificial intelligence on the UK economy’. their readiness to take the next step on solve problems in ways that are similar their own digital transformation journey. From there, we were able to develop our Executive to humans. (See Figure 2). own conceptual model detailing the five In particular, we ask what the proliferation key dimensions of the AI Opportunity: summary and acceleration of AI means for technology; people; culture; ethics; Figure 1. The five dimensions of the AI opportunity Within our model of the AI opportunity, each of the five dimensions work symbiotically, with people placed at the centre. Technology Culture People Impact Ethics 03 04 Within the key findings, we hear that – to support the need for organisations to and healthy scepticism, and guided not just the UK’s mix of thriving start-up culture, change that. To act now to capitalise upon by organisational concerns but by social renowned academic research capabilities, AI’s advancing capabilities or risk being ones too. and innovative mindset gives it a real and left behind. Only then can the UK fulfil its potential The five dimensions of the AI opportunity exciting opportunity to lead the way in the We also provide a series of practical advice to be a world leader in AI. And only then development and use of AI. Positively, we and resources to guide organisations along can organisations of all shapes, sizes, and also uncover a clear willingness among the path ahead - from augmenting the sectors build an AI strategy that delivers We identified five dimensions through which to shifting, giving way to a culture of educating, leaders and employees to embrace AI roles of human employees, to establishing the right outcomes – for both themselves technologies in their working lives. assess the AI opportunity for UK organisations: training, and retraining the current and an ethical framework for how the and the employees, customers, and future workforce. Yet we also reveal a gap between attitude technology is developed and used. societies they serve. 1. Technology – AI has an unprecedented and action. Around half of employees Above all, we make the case for a process and leaders (51% and 49% respectively) impact on the evolving world of business. 4. Ethics – Radical socioeconomic and cultural of evolution, not revolution. Indeed, as say they are not currently using any AI Technical knowledge of AI capabilities – now changes are expected to follow the transition with any aspect of digital transformation, technologies at work. More than a third we argue that embracing the use of and in the near future – allows organisations to an AI-driven society, and a close ethical (37%) of leaders admit they are not AI technologies must be seen as a focused on AI at all. to begin to harness its potential. evaluation must occur to build fair AI collective process of continuous learning platforms for a healthy future. In this report, we provide compelling and improvement. One that should be 2. People – Both the nature and quality of evidence – both empirical and anecdotal approached with transparency, excitement, human work will transform, creating a new 5.