Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and
Technology, , gave the opening speech at the
International Conference on Robotics and Automation in London
today.
Good afternoon.
This time last year, the quiet backstreets of Oxford saw
something the rest of Europe had never seen before; a fully
autonomous vehicle on public roads - without a single person on
board.
This journey marked a milestone for Oxa, formerly Oxbotica, one
of Britain’s most successful spinouts, in its mission to bring
‘universal autonomy’: the ability of any vehicle, of any size, in
any place, to drive itself safely and sustainably.
Meanwhile, in the skies above Oxford, we’re planning on building
highways of a different kind.
Project Skyway - with funding from our £125 million Future Flight
Programme – intends to build the world’s longest and largest
drone ‘superhighway,’ connecting the airspace above British towns
and cities from Reading and Rugby to Coventry and Cambridge.
Not that that’s the only thing happening up there in the air;
British start-up, sees.ai, has just been granted permission to
use its drones to inspect power lines beyond the visual line of
sight.
Uniquely capable of close inspection, sees.ai can cut the need
for helicopters and planes, making a dangerous job safer, cheaper
– and better.
Each of these 3 stories show the extraordinary pace of the
‘robotics revolution’ since the millennium.
And they show that Britain’s boldest entrepreneurs are right at
the forefront.
That’s just as well. Because we need innovation now more than
ever.
From the net zero transition to the impacts of an ageing society,
today we find ourselves facing challenges new and old.
For centuries, Britain has been defined by its ability to answer
these kinds of big questions by rethinking, reimagining, and
reinventing.
And if we are to shape the world in the same in the century to
come, then we must once more be bold enough to do things
differently.
Whether that means using robotics to help hard-working carers to
make the lives of elderly people healthier and happier or
applying automation to keep wind turbines turning far out at sea.
The robots you will have seen just next door are already changing
the way we interact with some of the most dangerous environments
on Earth and beyond.
From navigating nuclear decommissioning and exploring outer
space, the £112 million we invested in the Robotics for a Safer
World programme brought together our world-leading universities
to create cutting-edge R+D in clusters across
every corner of our country.
And British companies are making a difference in other impactful
ways, too.
In Cambridge, CMR Surgical is using robotics to improve the
safety, accuracy, and repeatability of keyhole surgery.
And, having joined Britain’s ever-growing list of unicorns, its
technology is already transforming care far beyond Cambridge.
It’s reducing waiting lists and speeding up recoveries everywhere
from Edinburgh to India, Bangor to Brazil.
On every continent, then, British answers to those big questions
are making our lives longer, healthier, and happier.
And to the scientists, entrepreneurs, and investors coming up
with their own answers beyond our shores, I can tell you with
confidence that Britain is open for business.
The opportunities here are extraordinary: our own statistics show
that the productivity boost of robotics adoption in just 7
service sectors of our economy could be up to £150 billion in
2035 – that is just short of the current GVA of
the entire UK financial services industry!
But, of course, those opportunities come with risks.
And, to tackle those risks, we’ve got to get the regulation
right.
So that, rather than ‘stealing’ our jobs, robots can do the dull,
dirty, or dangerous work that people cannot or do not want to do
and improve the quality, safety, and productivity of the work we
can and want to do.
Because my department’s mission doesn’t end with making Britain a
‘science and tech superpower’; we want to translate that
superpower status into tangible benefits for the British people.
That’s regulation is right at the heart of my agenda.
Just last week, I met with the Prime Minister
and CEOs from 3 of the world’s
foremost AI businesses.
Together, we discussed how we can capitalise on Britain’s unique
position of influence and shared a commitment to deliver on the
agile approach to AI governance that we set out in our recent
White Paper.
Because unlocking the potential robotics revolution requires
public confidence that these technologies are being used in a
safe and responsible way.
And we are determined to work domestically and internationally,
as well as with many of you, to put the necessary guardrails in
place.
Coming out of that meeting, I felt a renewed confidence.
That a government unafraid to look to the world beyond Whitehall
to work together with industry and academia can get it right not
just on regulation, but on skills and investment, too.
Whether you want to build self-driving cars, superhighways in the
sky, or surgical robots in the operating room.
Together, we can make Britain the best place in the world to
start and scale a safe and successful robotics business.
I wish you a safe and successful conference. Thank you very much
for inviting me here to speak.
