Google worried by slow AI adoption in UK

The Google UK and European Operations head has warned that the UK is not adopting artificial intelligence (AI), which could lead to the country losing out on economic benefits.

According to a new study by the tech giant, two thirds (66%) of UK workers had never used AI generative in their job. This usage was particularly low among women aged over 55 and those with lower socio-economic backgrounds.

Slow adoption was due to a lack of training and guidance from companies, as well as cultural factors. Some of these will be addressed under the government’s Action Plan for AI Opportunities.

Google’s report claims that AI could add PS400bn (£400m) to the UK economy through increased productivity by 2030. However, only a small portion of this boost will occur unless the UK embraces the new technology in a more comprehensive way.

Debbie Weinstein, President of Google EMEA told PA News the report was “a call to arms” to ensure we provide the tools workers in the UK need.

She said: “It is important to address this adoption gap in order to realise the economic benefits as well as the time-saving benefits.”

Google stated that the UK has historically been slow to adopt new technologies. According to the AI Works report, “history shows that this pattern has recurred worldwide with successive waves of technologies.” The challenge is particularly acute in the UK where the gap between innovation, and its implementation has undermined the economic potential.

This long-tail pattern could delay productivity and compromise long-term growth, given AI’s enormous economic potential.

Lack of bite-sized courses and a failure of businesses to provide guidance at work were holding back the adoption of AI.

In a survey of over 3,100 respondents, 70% of workers said they would use AI tools themselves, rather than be asked by their managers or employer. Just 22% of employees were encouraged by their employers to do this, compared to 28% just six months earlier.

The firm stated that “AI adoption occurs without any official guidance in the workplace”.

The report said that Google’s AI Works Pilots showed workers can save 122 hours per year on average by using AI for administrative tasks. One barrier was the belief that AI was cheating or not legal.

The report stated that “our research shows workers are looking to explicit permission and guardrails as to what they can and are encouraged, use AI for.”

Short Training Courses

Google has called on Ministers to use their industrial strategy to outline how AI adoption in key industries can be supported.

The report also called on the newly created government agency Skills England to support a system of accreditation for short, effective training courses.

In response to the report, Technology Secretary Peter Kyle stated: “We will help workers develop the skills needed for jobs with AI and in AI so that the entire society can benefit.”

As part of this, we will work closely with Skills England to develop a number of initiatives. This includes building a detailed image of the gaps in talent pools and working with industry and training providers to fill them.

Google is running a pilot programme with small businesses in the UK, using behavioural sciences to drive the program, as well as working with school academies, and the Community Union.

Commentators expressed concerns that the UK lacked the necessary skills to be able to implement the government’s AI Opportunities Action Plan announced in January. More than 11,500 new jobs are envisaged in the action plan at a campus of data centres in Wales. This would be one of Europe’s largest. In the next three-years, a new technology hub in Liverpool could create 1,000 more jobs.

Permission

Weinstein informed PA that employees were reluctant about using AI. She said that people wanted to be prompted. They asked themselves “Is this okay for me?”

She said that after a few hours to boost their confidence, they used the technology two times as much. They were still using it months later.

Google’s AI Works report said that these simple interventions helped narrow the AI adoption gaps among participants in the pilot study.

Before training, for example, only 17% (of women over 55) in the cohorts of this study used AI every week and only 9% did so daily. After three months, 56% of women aged above 55 in the cohorts were using AI weekly and 29% daily.

Google’s research was conducted by Public First, a research group that surveyed 3,100 respondents.

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