Discussing Keir Starmer’s “AI Opportunities Action Plan”

In a highly anticipated discussion on BBC Radio 5 Live, renowned AI expert and industry thought leader Alina Timofeeva shared her insights on UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s bold vision for the future of artificial intelligence through the newly proposed “AI Opportunities Action Plan.”

Timofeeva, a high-profile senior advisor in AI and a celebrated TEDx speaker with over half a million views explored the ambitious pledges aimed at placing the UK at the forefront of the global AI revolution.

During the discussion, she addressed some of the most pressing questions shaping the AI landscape today:

• How can AI help the public sector and the NHS?

• What are the opportunities for education?

• Will AI take away our jobs?

• Can we trust AI?

She says:

” AI has the potential to reshape industries and automate many tasks. For example, AI can help the NHS by improving diagnostics, enhancing patient experiences, and reducing wait times. It can automate triage, prioritize patients, and streamline referrals. AI also helps with administrative tasks like scheduling, billing, and data entry, allowing staff to focus on care. Additionally, AI can predict patient demand, optimize resources, and support 24/7 access to medical information through chatbots, easing call center pressure and reducing waiting times.

While certain roles may be replaced by AI, this technology will also create new opportunities. The key is to focus on reskilling and upskilling workers to adapt to this new landscape. By automating repetitive tasks, AI can free up people to focus on more complex and creative work. It’s about evolution.

AI will take a little longer in many respects to really demonstrate the growth with the significant investment required upfront, and AI is anything but cheap. Just in 2024 Global AI investment has soared beyond $300 billion, and the ROI is yet to be seen.

Whilst the Government today has promised benefits of AI in the near future, what we have seen during the past few years is that the technology revolutions work in a way that we tend to overestimate the speed of the revolution and underestimate the size of the revolution. In the past we were given the prophecies that we will be shopping online or watching movies online, which did indeed happen – but it didn’t happen at the speed that was promised, it took a bit longer. When the revolution did happen, it was much bigger than what we thought.

To make this ambitious plan work the ecosystem is key to make this happen at speed and also to help us protect the digital future and ensure AI safety, such that it is not misused for deep fakes, fraud etc. We see AI fail, we must build AI with the view that it can make mistakes, to avoid the situation with other technologies when outages make national news.

Back in 2023, Rishi Sunak raised concerns about AI’s potential to harm humans if not used appropriately. Protecting our digital future means ensuring AI safety and preventing misuse for things like deepfakes and fraud. Currently, there are no laws criminalizing the creation of deep fakes or other harmful AI uses. We need legislation to tackle these risks — fake images and videos can destroy lives and even threaten our democracy.”

AI has incredible potential to transform education, starting from a young age and fostering inclusivity by involving more women in technology. But it’s essential that the professionals designing and operating AI adhere to the highest ethical standards. Just as we wouldn’t allow an unqualified doctor to operate on a patient, we shouldn’t entrust our digital future to untrained or underqualified AI developers.”