One of the UK’s biggest successes during the Covid-19 pandemic was its vaccination strategy which was attributed to fast regulatory approvals and the country’s significant focus on research and development (R&D).
During the pandemic, technology companies across the globe sent R&D into hyperdrive, and the UK was at the forefront of that innovation machine. The UK tech industry had all the components at their disposal even before the pandemic, but it was only when faced with the pressure brought by Covid-19 that they were able to develop fast solutions, bringing them to market in record time.
As a result of the immediate aftershocks of Brexit, the UK Government recently unveiled its Innovation Strategy. Its aim is to significantly increase innovation that will enhance productivity, and bring jobs, growth, and prosperity to all parts of the UK. As such, the policy calls to identify the key seven technology families that will transform our economy. These include advanced materials and manufacturing, AI, digital and advanced computing, bioinformatics and genomics, engineering biology, electronics, photonics and quantum, energy and environment technologies, as well as robotics and smart machines.
The UK is already Europe’s largest venture capital ecosystem, with $15B worth of funding towards tech companies in 2020 alone. In fact, the UK’s Innovation Policy Document outlines that investment in UK deep tech companies have increased by 291% in the last five years. Complementing the venture capital funding is the UK’s impressive network of top universities, with four amongst the global top ten. It is therefore no surprise that the UK has over 100 unicorns – ahead of France, Germany and The Netherlands combined.
The Government also recently published its AI strategy, covering growth of the AI ecosystem and responsible adoption of AI by businesses and the public sector. Developments in smart machines powered by AI, machine learning (ML), robotics and 5G will also bolster a new era of UK innovation. This will allow businesses to run better, change faster and grow greater in 2022.
Run better: Leveraging AI to introduce intelligent operations
One area of concern in the UK is falling rates of productivity. LSE reveals that the UK has seen slow rates of productivity over the past decade, with output per hour no higher today than they were before the global financial crisis. Despite this, the flash productivity estimate for Q2 2021 was 3.1% higher than 2020.
Part of this increase is attributed to digital transformation across all sectors. By integrating intelligent solutions like hyper-automation, augmented intelligence and self-service capabilities into customer-facing and internal business processes, organisations can unlock new opportunities and streams of revenue. As such, businesses can achieve greater success and provide seamless customer experiences that have the potential to change customers’ lives.
This leads me back to the UK’s vaccination strategy. Through AI case management tools (powered by cloud infrastructure and process automation bots), health institutions were able to identify the properties of this specific coronavirus and develop a vaccination using its ability to analyse a wealth of data in real-time. This ability to learn from diverse patterns and adopt different algorithms can extend the UK’s capabilities to drive predictive monitoring and alerts across almost every industry. Further, this can also reduce waste produced by time-consuming legacy processes to encourage a greener, more efficient future.
The use of AI has become commonplace in everyday technology, including in mobile phones, TVs and other day-to-day gadgets. But with its widespread use also comes more complex use cases of AI as recently seen in medical diagnostics, financial fraud detection and security pattern detection. Looking ahead, AI driven technologies such as augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR) will increasingly be used in both creative and industrial applications.
Change faster: 5G enhanced networks
Accompanying AI’s widespread adoption is the growth of 5G across the UK. As a result of its low-latency and high-bandwidth wireless networks, businesses will have access to better connectivity than ever before. 5G in healthcare, for example, can disrupt physical and virtual barriers by accelerating advancements in use cases like telemedicine. During the pandemic, telemedicine gave doctors the flexibility to attend to more patients each day, reducing the number of hospital visits by 20%. 5G networks can accelerate the adoption of teleconsultations, bridging the gap between both doctors and patients.
Benefits of its ultra-fast network can also be seen in industries like manufacturing. Research shows that by implementing 5G monitored sensors to automate operations, the UK manufacturing sector could save 40 mega tonnes of carbon emissions by 2035.
Grow greater: Machine learning for smarter outcomes
Businesses are also looking to evolve existing technologies for smarter, faster, and ultimately actionable insights which can be used to solve practical problems. This can be seen through machine learning (ML). ML algorithms are used to compute immense quantities of data, but its applications are limited. Quantum machine learning (QML), an integration between AI and quantum computing, represents the next step in innovation. By combining the two technologies, quantum computers can solve problems by analysing complex correlations between inputs that are impossible with traditional computers.
Private sector QML projects have already been used to unlock the potential of ML and universities in the UK are spearheading progress too. The University of Bristol recently developed an algorithm that provides insights into the physics underlying quantum systems – paving the way for advances in quantum computation and sensing, turning a new page in our understanding of the laws of nature. QML can also be used in the UK to combat pressing medical, scientific, and social issues. Tech Mahindra, in partnership with Reagene Biosciences, are in the process of applying computational modelling and analysis to a 3D printed vascular lung model to discover which molecules were most effective in combating the symptoms of coronavirus in the human lungs.
Advancements in AI, QML and 5G in the past year prove the UK’s potential to innovate its technology landscape and we are only at the beginning of further discoveries. A better-connected world will rely on AI, 5G and ML to reveal revenue opportunities far beyond the gains that allowed businesses to survive before the pandemic.
