Artificial Intelligence has the potential to add £630 billion to the UK economy by 2035, concludes an independent review commissioned by the government as part of its Industrial Strategy.

The review, led by Jerome Pesenti, chief executive of BenevolentTech and Dame Wendy Hall, Professor of Computer Science at the University of Southampton, says AI is expected to make “great improvements” for the public, including more personalised services, better healthcare and more efficient use of resources.

To fully unlock its potential, the report makes 18 recommendations for how the UK can be the best place for businesses developing AI to start, grow and thrive.

A critical element will be increasing the UK’s AI expertise through new initiatives including an industry-funded Masters programme and conversion courses to bring a broader range of people into the field, while ensuring that people and organisations can be confident that use of data for AI is safe, secure and fair by making more data available, is also key.

“In our AI review, we focused on recommendations that are both practicable and deliverable. By following these recommendations, Government, Academia and Industry can help strengthen the UK’s position in the global AI market,” noted Pesenti. “Our proposals are deliberately specific and boil down to three fundamentals – enable better access to data, create a greater supply of AI skills and promote the uptake of AI.”

The recommendations will now be considered in discussions towards a potential Industrial Strategy sector deal between government and the AI industry.