UK AI growth estimate drops to one-third of original figure
Wired AI: UK Officials Said AI Would Add £400 Billion to the Economy. That Figure Mainly Came From Google
The AI minister now concedes the estimated figure is less than a third of that. Researchers blame the country’s slow rate of adoption
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The UK government promoted an estimate that artificial intelligence would add £400 billion to the economy, a figure meant to address public concerns about job losses. This estimate came almost entirely from a report commissioned by Google, though the government's own internal projections, revealed only recently, put the figure at £120 billion or less, less than a third of the publicized amount. Government departments used the higher Google-commissioned figure for nearly two years while possessing the lower internal estimate for almost a year beforehand, raising concerns about transparency and whether industry-funded research should drive policy decisions. Critics argue the government should have tested these figures independently and been clearer about their origins before building policy around them.
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