Please find embargoed link to the full report here
and have today urged the
Government to seize the opportunities of robotics to grow the
UK's economy, by creating new datasets to train robots in
healthcare, greater support for SMEs automating processes in
manufacturing and agriculture, and a new £100m Robotics
Investment Programme.
The former Labour Prime Minister and Conservative Leader argue
that technological advances mean that in the next decade
AI-driven robots will become an increasingly common part of
working and everyday life.
In time to come and not that many years away, we can
envisage a world in which your self-driving car takes you to
work, the food you eat is harvested by robots, and your
deliveries are packed by smart machines and dispatched by drone.
Such applications would help boost the UK's sluggish economic
growth, make public services more effective, and free up time in
people's daily lives.
In their fourth joint paper, Blair and Hague warn that the UK
currently has the least advanced robotics sector in the G7 and is
at risk of falling further behind other countries. The United
States is home to the majority of leading robotics companies,
while China, Japan and South Korea have each announced hundreds
of millions of dollars in dedicated state-backed robotics funds
and programmes.
But they argue that as robotics becomes more linked to artificial
intelligence, where the UK does have significant strengths, the
country has the opportunity to catch up.
As and say in their
foreword:
“Much of the impact of AI so far has been delivered
digitally, through generative AI tools like ChatGPT. But many
future advances will be delivered in the physical world, through
robots that act as the arms and legs of AI. From self-driving
cars and delivery drones to industry robots, AI-enabled robotics
will transform our economy, public services, and daily
life.
“Today, the UK has the least advanced robotics sector in the
G7, with half the robots per worker in the automotive industry
that Germany has. However, the fact that robotics increasingly
intersects with AI – where we do have strengths – gives Britain
an opportunity to catch up. This report sets out how the new
Government can seize this opportunity and realise the
transformative long-term benefits of robotics by addressing
challenges in innovation, commercialisation, and
governance.”
To get the UK back on track, they propose greater investment in
the robotics research being led by the Advanced Research and
Innovation Agency (ARIA), as well as a new £100m Robotics
Investment Programme to provide robotics startups with the
follow-on funding they need to grow and commercialise UK
research.
They also urge the Government to bring forward funding for “Made
Smarter” and “Grow Smarter” adoption programmes, to help SMEs
invest in automation across manufacturing and
agriculture.
The Blair-Hague paper also puts forward several recommendations
both to build public trust in the technology and mitigate the
potential impact on employment.
The report recommends prioritising robotic automation of ‘dull,
dirty and dangerous' tasks. Humans' roles can therefore shift to
supervision and management of teams of robots, resulting in
greater safety and job satisfaction for workers. Alongside this,
the government should develop a long-term strategy to support
those whose jobs may be impacted by automation, such as a
long-term retraining fund.
Other recommendations in the report include the reallocation of
some UKRI funding to robotics research; increased financial
support for regulators affected by robotics; and amending the
Science and Technology Framework to include robotics and embodied
AI as a sixth critical technology.
Notes to the editors
This press release was sent on behalf of the Institute for Global Change and
the Office of .
The full report - “A New National Purpose: The UK's Opportunity
to Lead on Next Wave Robotics” is available via embargoed link
at: A New National Purpose:
The UK's Opportunity to Lead in Next-Wave Robotics
(institute.global) . The embargo on this link will lift at
00:01 Tuesday 8th October.
The first three reports are: “A New National Purpose:
Innovation Can Power the Future of Britain” (February 2023);
“A New National Purpose: AI
Promises a World-Leading Future of Britain” (June 2023);
“A New National Purpose:
Leading the Biotech Revolution” (January 2024)
