Can the government’s AI Action Plan drive innovation and growth in the UK?

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The New Statesman

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🗓️ 14 April 2025

⏱️ 20 minutes

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Summary

Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s new 50-point AI Opportunities Action Plan aims to drive national growth and transform public services.

In this episode host Jon Bernstein talks to AWS Director of Technology for the UK Public Sector Holly Ellis, and Director of Government Innovation Policy at Tony Blair Institute for Global Change Alexander losad about the plan and what it could mean for businesses, policymakers and the wider economy.

The conversation covers AI’s role in reshaping government operations, challenges in implementation, and the UK's potential as a global AI innovation hub.

This New Statesman podcast episode is sponsored by AWS.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	The New Statesman.
0:06.1	Hello and welcome to this special podcast brought to you by the New Statesman's Spotlight
0:10.3	Team.
0:10.7	We cover policy for those who shape it and the businesses it affects.
0:14.5	I'm John Bernstein.
0:20.7	In this episode, we'll discuss the recently published AI Opportunities Action Plan.
0:24.9	We'll explore how AI-led innovation could support and accelerate the government's key five missions.
0:31.5	If you need reminding of those five missions, they are kick-starting economic growth,
0:35.9	making Britain a clean energy superpower, taking back our streets, breaking down barriers to opportunity and building an NHS fit for the future.
0:45.8	This episode has been fully funded by AWS and joining me on the panel today is AWS Director of Technology for the UK public sectorector, Holly Ellis, and Director of Government Innovation Policy at the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, Alexander Yassad. Welcome to you both. Holly, I'll start with you if that's okay. A broad question to start with and then we'll get into the specifics. That UK government AI opportunities
1:12.5	plan, what are your key takeaways? Thank you, John. So it's fantastic to see the government
1:18.0	recognise the transformative potential of AI and support the adoption of AI across the country.
1:23.3	At Amazon Web Services, we share the government's vision. There are a couple of areas that caught my attention.
1:28.7	One of the core principles is be on the side of innovators.
1:32.1	It is so important.
1:33.3	And having worked in government previously myself,
1:35.5	actually, public sector really needs to consider itself is the innovator within all of this.
1:39.5	It's a cultural mind shift to make sure that everyone is working towards the same agenda.
1:48.0	The second is the approach to adopt scan, pilot and scale. The approach in government to pilot rapidly aligns very much with how we work with our customers.
1:53.0	But it is really hard. So the continual scanning, amazing, it's so necessary at a time where everyone is learning so much
2:00.0	and the market and industry is moving so quickly.
2:02.6	But it's also really hard for our public sector customers to then pilot and scale at the pace that the opportunity action plan sets out.
	...

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