Tim Flagg
Chief Executive, UKAIThe UK does not lack ambition on AI writes CEO of UKAI, Tim Flagg. What it lacks is the confidence and coordination to turn that ambition into delivery. This opinion article was written in response to the Get Britain Growing: South East conference sprint on AI.
Artificial intelligence is already shaping how organisations operate, how decisions are made, and how people interact with work, education, and public services.
Across the economy, AI is now foundational. It is changing the nature of productivity, transforming professional roles, and redefining the skills people need to participate in the modern labour market. As demonstrated at the AI sprint session of the Get Britain Growing conference in Brighton, for regions such as the South East, this presents an enormous opportunity. With world-class universities, innovative businesses and strong entrepreneurial networks, the region has many of the ingredients required to lead.
But potential is not the same as delivery.
The Gap Between Ambition and Adoption
In my role as Chief Executive of UKAI, I regularly speak with businesses, policymakers, educators, and technologists across the country. The message I hear again and again is strikingly consistent – the UK does not lack ideas about AI. What it lacks is coherence, confidence, and a clear route from ambition to implementation.
That is the challenge this Sprint on AI and Skills was designed to confront.
The South East is often presented as a single prosperous region, closely tied to London, and assumed to be well placed to benefit from the next wave of technological change. Yet that broad characterisation hides a more complex reality. Research excellence and technology firms sit alongside small and medium-sized businesses experimenting without support, communities facing limited access to opportunity, and public institutions struggling to keep pace with change.
This matters because AI adoption will not succeed if it is only concentrated in already advanced organisations. It must become something that businesses, public services, educators, and communities can understand, trust, and use effectively.
One of the strongest messages from the Sprint participants was that of frustration. Participants recognised the strength of the ideas in the room, but also the familiar risk that good conversations do not always translate into action. Too often, momentum fades once an event ends. Responsibility becomes unclear. Investment remains uncertain. The same problems are discussed again months later.
AI adoption cannot rely on enthusiasm alone. It requires structure, leadership, and accountability.
That is why the idea of a place-based approach is so important. Sussex offers a credible starting point; it is a region with strong socio-economic assets, the infrastructure, clear challenges, and institutions capable of convening across sectors. Local authorities, universities, employers, and community organisations all have a role to play. The question is whether those efforts can be aligned into a shared plan.
From Literacy to Regional Leadership
A core part of that plan must be AI literacy.
Many people are now using AI tools every day, but far fewer are using them well. Too often, AI is treated as a shortcut – a way to draft text faster, search for information or automate simple tasks. That underestimates its value and increases its risks. Used properly, AI can support analysis, decision making, service redesign, and organisational learning. Used poorly, it can reinforce mistakes, weaken trust, and create fear.
At UKAI we have highlighted how AI literacy is not simply a technical skill. It is a leadership capability. It requires judgement, ethical awareness, and confidence. Leaders need to understand where AI adds value, where it introduces risk and how humans remain in control. Without that understanding, organisations will either move too slowly or adopt tools without the right safeguards.
Education and skills reform must therefore sit at the centre of the regional growth agenda. We cannot prepare people for an AI enabled economy through systems that move too slowly to keep up with technological change. Graduates should not require extensive retraining before they are productive. Adults should not be locked out of reskilling because learning pathways are too rigid. Businesses should not struggle to find the talent they need while education providers work to outdated assumptions.
The answer is not to narrow education to technical training alone. In an AI driven world, human capabilities become more valuable, not less. Critical thinking, communication, creativity, collaboration, and ethical judgement are not optional extras. They are the skills that will determine whether AI strengthens or weakens our economy and society.
The prize is significant. The regions that succeed in the age of AI will not only be those that build the most advanced technologies. They will be the regions that adapt fastest – embedding AI into workplaces, public services and education systems in ways that enhance human capability.
As we discovered, the South East has the assets to lead. Sussex could become the testbed for a model of responsible, inclusive, and practical AI adoption that can be scaled nationally.
But that will only happen if we move from insight to implementation. The task now is to build the coalition with the new Mayoral Combined Authority, set the standards, invest in skills, and create the confidence required for AI to deliver real regional growth.
Find out more
To find out more about the 2026 Chamber UK Get Britain Growing Conference, please either visit www.chamberuk.com/events or for partnership opportunities, please contact ben.mcdermott@chamberuk.com. This conference is organised in partnership with Silverstone Communications.
To find out more about UKAI: click here.
The Get Britain Growing Conference was sponsored by HP. Find out more: click here.