Six months after the launch of the Government’s AI Opportunities Action Plan, artificial intelligence trade body UKAI hosted a significant review event to assess the plan’s progress.
The review examined delivery of all 50 of the Action Plan’s recommendations, all of which were accepted by the Government in its official response to the Plan. The recommendations were grouped into 10 policy areas.
On the panel conducting the review were Jakob Mökander, Director of Science and Technology Policy at the Tony Blair Institute, and Dr Erin Young, Head of Tech Policy at the Institute of Directors.
Skills and Training: Reasons to be Cheerful?
The first policy area that the panel examined was skills and training. In this policy area, the bulk of the progress made was delivered in a set-piece speech made by the Prime Minister in June at London Tech Week, at which a tranche of announcements were made covering the entire span of the educational sector – from primary education, to post-graduate study.
In the conversation, Dr Erin Young highlighted the particular importance of skills and training to the wider success of the Action Plan, saying: “We always need to be thinking about skills and talent as one of the underlying core foundations for technology as a growth driver. And so I think this really needs to be front and centre as it has been.”
She then followed up by stating that attracting international talent must not be deprioritised in the drive to grow the domestic skills base: “Having said that, a lot of the focus that we’ve seen has been on growing homegrown talent, which is obviously very important, but we need to also be thinking about bringing and more importantly retaining international talent in the tech sector.”
Two key policies will determine whether the UK can successfully attract the international talent that Dr Young spoke of. The first is the recent Home Office white paper, which outlines plans to expand the use of High Potential Individual visas to draw skilled workers into the tech sector. The second is the newly announced Global Talent Taskforce, unveiled in late June, which will report directly to the Prime Minister and focus on making the UK a more attractive destination for global tech talent.
Regional Development – Delivery, Delivery, Delivery
Turning to regional development, Mökander cautioned against letting growth zones become a “vehicle for regional development”, rather than delivering on the stated aim of boosting AI opportunities.
He opened the discussion on the regional development policy area, saying: “Actually maybe I’ll start with a more critical note here. I actually see rather a risk that the AI growth zones become a vehicle for regional labour development which is an important policy and should be focused on the government. But it’s not necessarily the stated aim or the most important objective of the AI growth zones.”
He continued, stressing that growth zones must be selected based on infrastructure needs, including stable grid capacity, energy availability, and long-term planning – not just political geography or economic optics.
Dr Young echoed his points and emphasised the need for alignment between AI policy and broader industrial, trade, and energy strategies.
Ultimately, both speakers agreed that while regional development remains a central ambition of the Action Plan, its success will depend on long-term, cross-departmental coordination, and a recognition that diffusion must be supported by concrete infrastructure, energy planning, and regulatory reform.
Global Opportunities: Symbolism vs Substance
From partnerships with like-minded nations to boosting sovereign compute capacity, the Action Plan set out a series of recommendations aimed at increasing the UK’s competitiveness on the global AI stage. But the panel noted that, six months in, delivery has been mixed.
Dr Young welcomed signs of international collaboration, citing the UK-France supercomputing partnership as a positive step forward: “These are good. Even if nothing else, they’re symbolic. They show that the UK is open to partnerships across infrastructure, skills, and more.”
Mökander, however, was more circumspect. He argued that bilateral partnerships alone are not sufficient, and warned that the UK, post-Brexit, risks being sidelined in international regulatory conversations unless it prioritises harmonisation and standards: “The best thing the state can do is provide stability, harmonised standards, global coordination, so companies don’t have to comply with 30 different jurisdictions.”
He stressed the importance of building a regulatory infrastructure that not only underpins global collaboration but also attracts inward investment: “We need integration across capital markets, energy systems, and regulatory frameworks. This includes testing and certification, where the UK’s AI Safety Institute could play a global leadership role.”
From Promise to Delivery
Six months on, it’s clear that while the Action Plan has laid important groundwork, much of its success will hinge on the government’s ability to follow through. As the panel discussion made evident, announcements alone are not enough, what matters now is coordination, clarity, and consistent delivery across departments. Without that, the UK risks losing ground to more agile competitors.
Looking Ahead
With the compute strategy still awaited and pressure mounting internationally, particularly from the US and Europe, the coming months will be critical. Stakeholders across business, policy, and civil society are watching closely. Ambition is welcome, but execution will determine whether the UK can truly lead in the age of AI.