The Science and Technology Secretary has written an Op-Ed in the
Yorkshire Post on Barnsley becoming the UK's first Tech Town.
"People in Yorkshire are no stranger to change. This county has
always been a cradle for invention and innovation.
It is the birthplace of stainless steel, the marine chronometer,
the world's oldest continually working railway and the X-ray.
Yorkshire is now at the centre of another major technological
change – the advent of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
AI is no longer an
abstract idea - it is already changing how we live learn and
work.
Scientists are discovering new drugs in months instead of years.
Doctors are diagnosing diseases more accurately. Teachers are
saving time on lesson planning and marking. Small businesses are
using AI to cut
admin and understand their customers.
The possibilities are enormous – but so is the risk of repeating
the mistakes of the past where opportunities were uneven and
communities were left behind.
And that is what brings me to Barnsley. Once a lynchpin of
British manufacturing in the last Industrial Revolution, Barnsley
is now stepping forward to lead the next one.
Because today Barnsley becomes the UK's
first Tech Town – and with it the chance to be a national
trailblazer for how AI can be used in public
services, health, education, and at work improve everyday lives,
for people from all backgrounds.
All with the full heft of the British state firmly behind the
town's ambitions – but led by local people, for local people.
By fully embracing the opportunities offered by this new
technology we can transform lives, businesses and services.
It could result in smoother NHS check-ins and faster triage at
Barnsley Hospital, teachers using safe AI tools to improve pupils'
learning, and free AIand digital skills training
for people of all ages, so no one is shut out of the jobs and
opportunities of the future.
And the expansion of The Seam Digital Campus into one of the UK's
first dedicated AI
campuses will mean businesses get the support they need to adapt
to the age of AI.
Crucially, some of the world's most influential tech companies -
Microsoft, Cisco and Adobe - are backing Barnsley's ambitions.
Barnsley is already ahead of the curve, thanks to local leaders
and innovators who are harnessing technology's potential, right
now. This is one of the first councils to use AI to ease the paperwork burden
on social care teams.
Young people at Barnsley College are already getting hands-on
experience with cutting-edge technology.
Health on the high street is modernising how residents access
health checks. Even robot delivery dogs have been trialled on the
town's pavements. Barnsley has never been afraid to try something
new.
Barnsley's Tech Town status will help build on this progress.
And at the heart of it all is the people of Barnsley themselves.
Over the coming months, residents will be invited to a series of
“Tech Town Halls” to help shape how AI is used in their schools,
hospitals, workplaces and high streets. This is AI built with the community, not
imposed on it.
If we can show - here in Barnsley - that AI can make a child more
confident in the classroom, make a visit to hospital quicker and
easier, or help a local business grow, then we can show what is
possible for the whole country. Barnsley was at the heart of
industrial revolution.
Now it has the chance to be the showcase for the technological
revolution - and this time, we are determined that no one is left
behind."
