UK Government to trial AI projects in bakeries, farms, and more
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120 projects around the UK will receive funding. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. 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.
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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.
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.
