UK Artificial Intelligence (AI) Statistics and Trends – Forbes Advisor UK

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

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

Growth and adoption of AI 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 reach £801.6 billion by 2035.¹
• The number of UK AI companies has grown by more than 600% in the last 10 years.²
• According to government research, around one in six UK organisations, or 432,000 people, have adopted at least one AI technology.³
• 68% of large companies, 33% of mid-sized businesses and 15% of small businesses have integrated at least one AI technology.³
• After a 10-week trial of computer vision technology, Marks & Spencer reported an 80% reduction in warehouse accidents.⁴
• Government data⁵ shows the most commonly adopted AI solutions in the UK and focuses 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%, followed closely by the legal sector at 29.2%. The hospitality, healthcare and retail sectors have the lowest adoption rates, at around 11.5%.

Impact on the economy and employment

• The UK has more than 50,000 AI workers.⁶
• AI contributed £3.7 billion to the economy in 2022.⁶
• Britain has twice as many AI-based businesses as any other European country.⁶
• The largest net job gains from AI over the next 20 years are expected to be in the UK health and social care sector.⁷
• Among the main UK regions, Greater London leads the way for AI-focused businesses, being home to 1,387 AI businesses as of June 2023.⁸
• London is the UK’s leading AI startup hub, home to companies such as: DeepMind, Adbrain and BenevolentAI, alongside leading machine learning research groups from UCL, Kings and the Imperial College.

• Job postings across all industries that mention AI advertise salaries 20% higher than those that don’t.

• The government estimates that around 7% of existing jobs in the UK could be lost over the next five years, rising to around 18% after 10 years and almost 30% after 20 years, the equivalent of around 2 .2 million jobs.⁷

AI language models

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

Autonomous vehicles

• Autonomous vehicles are expected to be on the UK’s roads by 2025, with government funding worth £100 million committed to date to achieve this goal.
• A Forbes Advisor study found that 85% of respondents had reservations about AI technology in cars.

AI research and development

• The UK government was ranked third in the 2023 Global AI Readiness Index and first in Western Europe. ⁹
• Since 2014, the government has allocated more than £2.3 billion to various initiatives in the field of artificial intelligence (AI).^ten
• In the Budget 2023the UK government has spent almost £1 billion on AI research.¹¹
• The UK plans to invest £900 million in a cutting-edge supercomputer as part of an artificial intelligence strategy that includes ensuring the country can build its own ‘BritGPT’.¹²

Trends, perspectives and concerns

• A Forbes Advisor study found that 59% of Brits are concerned about the use of artificial intelligence.
• The main concerns were:

Sources:

Forbes Advisor’s primary data was drawn from a sample of 2,000 adults, representative of the UK population. It was commissioned by Forbes Advisor and produced by market research firm Opinium. Data was collected in May 2023.

1. https://www.trade.gov/market-intelligence/united-kingdom-artificial-intelligence-market-0#:~:text=The%20UK’s%20AI%20market%20is,the%20UK%20economy%20by%202035 .
2. https://www.great.gov.uk/campaign-site/uk-na-innovation/sectors/artificial-intelligence/
3. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ai-activity-in-uk-businesses/ai-activity-in-uk-businesses-executive-summary
4. https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/global-hr/pages/uk-ai-safety.aspx
5. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ai-activity-in-uk-businesses/ai-activity-in-uk-businesses-executive-summary
6. ^ https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-unveils-world-leading-approach-to-innovation-in-first-artificial-intelligence-white-paper-to-turbocharge-growth
7. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1023590/impact-of-ai-on-jobs.pdf
8. https://thedatacity.com/blog/the-uks-top-artificial-intelligence-ai-hotspots/
9. https://oxfordinsights.com/ai-readiness/ai-readiness-index/
10. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-ai-strategy/national-ai-strategy-html-version
11. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-commits-up-to-35-billion-to-future-of-tech-and-science
12. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/mar/15/uk-to-invest-900m-in-supercomputer-in-bid-to-build-own-britgpt