UK Government to trial AI projects in bakeries, farms, and more

• The UK Government has set aside £7m for AI projects
• 120 projects allocated funding to develop AI tools
• This hopes to boost productivity and efficiency for small businesses

As part of the UK Government’s recently announced AI Opportunities Plan, £7 million has been allocated in funding to AI projects across the country, in an effort to ‘turbocharge’ growth by encouraging the use of the technology. The 120 projects will receive a share of the funding, which will enable them to test tech to boost productivity and efficiency.

An example given by the Government for recipients of this funding includes an algorithm which can help bakeries predict sales, as well as helping forecast how much of each product will need to be produced and therefore reduce food waste, although it's difficult to imagine a successful bakery which doesn’t already know how much it’s likely to sell.

The Government claims the move will help ‘unleash this technology’s era-defining potential’ to deliver growth and help boost small businesses’ productivity, which will make Britain more competitive and cement the nation as Europe’s number one destination for AI businesses.

An ambitious plan

Also suggested as part of the plan is an AI tool to ‘predict potholes before they form’ so they can be repaired earlier and more cheaply (although again, it's difficult to imagine a pothole being fixed before it’s formed) as well as rather ambitious AI models to, ‘help farmers make their dairy cows produce greater yields.’

The news comes after the Government recently cancelled a £1.3 billion AI investment plan, shelving tech projects such as a proposed £800 million Exascale supercomputer, as well as £500 million set aside for investments into computing power for AI Research Resource - so the £7m promised here pales in comparison.

Despite this, ministers are confident this will be transformative, with Science and Technology Secretary Peter Kyle commenting, "The huge range of projects receiving funding today, from farmers and bakers to those tackling potholes on our roads and mould in residential properties, demonstrates the truly limitless benefits of AI that are there for the taking."

"And take them we will, with our 50-point AI Opportunities Plan, published yesterday, to unleash AI across the UK, delivering a decade of national renewal and firing up our Plan for Change."

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