Artificial Intelligence: Skills Training
(South Shields) (Lab)
6. What steps she is taking to increase access to AI skills
training.
The Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
()
The Government have funded a broad package of AI skills
initiatives through the education pipeline, to address the skills
gap and to support citizens and businesses to take advantage of
the wealth of opportunities that AI technologies provide. We have
funded a new AI master’s conversion course and published draft
guidance to help training providers develop business-relevant AI
skills training.
Mrs Lewell-Buck
The defence AI strategy acknowledged an AI skills gap across the
whole of defence and promised to work with industry to provide
expertise in AI and develop a skills framework. That was two
years ago. Where is it?
The hon. Member does not quite grasp the magnitude of what we
have done on this agenda. We have invested £290 million in it
since 2018. We also recently published guidance to support
businesses to adopt AI. We will continue to prioritise that area.
Mr Speaker
I call the Chair of the Science and Technology Committee.
(Tunbridge Wells) (Con)
Just before Christmas, the EU institutions declared that they had
agreed to a new EU AI Act. What assessment has the Secretary of
State made of that? How does her intended approach in the UK
differ?
I welcome my right hon. Friend’s work in this space. The EU has
taken a slightly different tack from us. We want to foster
innovation in AI, seize the opportunities for our public services
and ensure that the jobs are located here in the UK. That is why
we have our domestic track—we will produce a White Paper
shortly—and also why we introduced an international track and
convened the entire world for the first ever global AI safety
summit. We are certainly leading in this area.
Mr Speaker
I call the shadow Minister.
(Reading East) (Lab)
It is vital that Britain grasps the opportunity of AI to grow our
economy and to modernise vital public services. That relies on
having a supply of highly trained staff. However, the Government
are failing in that. Their AI scholarship scheme is floundering,
with Ministers finding only 21% of the funding they promised. Why
has the Department failed? When will the Secretary of State
authorise an urgent review of this vital policy area?
Perhaps the hon. Member missed my answer to the previous
question, so I will indulge him by repeating it. Since 2018, we
have dedicated £290 million to AI skills. That does not sound
like a Government who are failing on that agenda.
