Campaign 6
Make Technology Work for Britain
Embrace AI and new technology while making sure Britain captures the benefits and remains in control of the consequences.
AI is already changing how people work.
The choice is not between accepting technology and stopping it.
The real choice is whether Britain shapes the transition intelligently or simply watches it happen.
The campaign in 30 seconds
The opportunity
AI could improve productivity, public services, science and economic growth.
Government policy
The Government's AI Skills Boost programme aims to upskill 10 million UK workers by 2030. (GOV.UK)
The challenge
Adoption alone does not tell us who benefits, which jobs change or whether oversight keeps pace with increasingly powerful systems.
Success looks like
Higher productivity, stronger businesses, better jobs, healthy competition and effective democratic oversight.
AI adoption is accelerating
ONS analysis shows self-reported AI use among UK businesses with at least 10 employees increasing from around 12% in late 2023 to around 35% by 2026. Adoption remains substantially higher among large businesses than smaller ones. (Office for National Statistics)
But adoption itself is not the outcome.
The Technology Scorecard
Track:
AI adoption
Productivity
Worker skills
SME adoption
Employment
Graduate and entry-level recruitment
Competition
Frontier capability
Safety
Government use of AI
The First Rung Test
AI may increasingly perform tasks traditionally given to junior employees.
That creates a question which deserves much more attention:
If AI does the junior work, how does an inexperienced person become experienced?
Government should track entry-level vacancies, graduate recruitment, apprenticeships, supervised junior roles and career progression in sectors experiencing significant AI automation.
A labour market can look healthy today while quietly removing tomorrow's first rung.
Capability needs accountability
The UK's AI Security Institute has evaluated frontier AI systems since November 2023. Its public analysis says capabilities are improving rapidly across all tested domains. (AI Security Institute)
As systems become more capable:
More capability should bring more responsibility.
Independent testing matters.
Cybersecurity matters.
Incident reporting matters.
Government technical expertise matters.
Competition matters.
And decisions with major consequences for society should remain subject to democratic institutions.
Good intentions are not governance.
What we are asking government to do
- 1
Publish a joined-up Technology and AI Scorecard covering: Adoption → Productivity → Skills → Jobs → Competition → Safety → Latest Result
- 2
Apply a First Rung Test to workforce policy.
- 3
Maintain strong independent frontier-AI evaluation.
- 4
Measure whether digital competition interventions produce tangible results.
What we are not proposing
We are not trying to stop technological progress.
We are not assuming AI will inevitably create mass unemployment.
We are not assuming it will automatically create prosperity either.
And government control is not automatically the same thing as democratic accountability.
What would change our mind?
We should support rapid adoption where evidence shows genuine benefits.
We should support stronger safeguards where evidence demonstrates material risks.
And as the technology changes, our proposals should change with it.
Policy in Practice
AI policy may produce enormous benefits while creating consequences government did not originally anticipate.
Track:
Other questions include:
- Are AI regulations protecting citizens or entrenching the largest companies because only they can afford compliance?
- Are productivity gains being shared with workers?
- Does government procurement create dependence on a small number of technology companies?
The most important unintended-consequence test may remain the First Rung Test: if AI removes junior tasks, how does somebody become experienced enough to do the senior job?
Compare the alternatives
We apply the same test to every party: is the proposal costed, independently verified, and does it define how success will be measured?
Current Government
The Government's AI Opportunities Action Plan promotes faster adoption and greater computing capacity. Its skills programme aims to equip 10 million UK workers with AI skills by 2030.
Expected benefit
Adoption and training could raise productivity, improve public services and help workers use new technology effectively.
Potential trade-off
AI may disrupt jobs and entry-level career routes, increase dependence on major suppliers and add substantial energy, water and infrastructure demand.
Conservatives
The Conservatives' policy-renewal programme identifies research, development and barriers to private enterprise as priorities, but no detailed standalone replacement AI plan was located in its current published programme.
Expected benefit
A strong focus on innovation and enterprise could support investment and commercial development.
Potential trade-off
Without detailed policies, the approach cannot yet be assessed on safety, workforce transition, competition, infrastructure or cost.
Liberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats propose AI digital independence, using procurement, domestic capacity and skills policy to reduce dependence on overseas technology companies.
Expected benefit
Greater domestic capability could improve resilience, support British firms and retain more economic value in the UK.
Potential trade-off
Favouring domestic suppliers may increase costs or reduce access to leading global technologies where UK alternatives are not yet competitive.
Reform UK
Reform proposes an Office for Technology, faster data-centre development and a 'Patriotic Compact' linking public support to jobs, tax and technological capability remaining in Britain.
Expected benefit
The policy could expand domestic AI infrastructure, investment and technical capability.
Potential trade-off
Data-centre expansion places pressure on planning, grids, water and energy. Public support also creates taxpayer exposure if projects underperform.
Green Party
The Greens propose specialist AI regulation, restrictions on specified high-risk uses, environmental assessment and a formal role for workers and communities in deployment decisions.
Expected benefit
Stronger safeguards could protect rights, workers, communities and natural resources while improving public accountability.
Potential trade-off
Additional approval and compliance requirements could slow deployment, raise development costs or discourage some investment.
Where there is common ground
All five approaches accept that AI will reshape the economy and that government has a role in shaping how it is adopted. The disagreement is mainly about how much to regulate, how to protect workers, how to build domestic capability and how to manage the environmental and competitive costs.
Britain on Purpose: The Test
Adoption → Productivity → Skills → Jobs → Entry-Level Opportunities → Competition → Safety → British Capability. Use the technology. Share the benefits. Keep humans in charge.
Use the technology. Share the benefits. Keep humans in charge.