Adoption is up, returns aren't
Plus what to look out for next week.
Good morning,
I'm taking a day off and there is definitely nothing I'd rather be doing with it than taking my kids to the local dinosaur park.
Yesterday, I mentioned modest predictions from the OBR about AI's impact on the country's productivity (0.2 percent). Any increase would give a major boost to government finances and the key to that is business adoption.
Today we've got three stories linked to adoption, including an interview with a founder whose startup has just struck a deal with HSBC to help them put their agents to work.
What if a great business idea felt less daunting to pursue?
AI is making it easier for entrepreneurs to turn ideas into businesses, helping with everything from building websites and creating content to managing everyday operations.
Shopify's data shows that businesses on its platform support 9.6 million jobs globally, including 479,000 in the UK.
For policymakers, it means economic growth doesn't just come from big businesses expanding, but from thousands more people being able to start something of their own.
Happening Next Week 📆
Scaling the summits: UKAI hosts a Sovereign Summit on Monday, techUK puts on its Innovation Summit on Tuesday and Bloomberg has its Tech Summit on Monday and Tuesday. On Wednesday and Thursday it's the FT's Future of AI event, while on Thursday and Friday, Chris Holmes has organised an AI Regulation Summit. On Thursday evening Canopy Compute hosts an event on infrastructure.
In Parliament: Both chambers sit until Wednesday. On Monday it's the third reading of the Cyber Security and Resilience Bill. The Science and Technology Committee hears about the impact of digital devices on children's development on Tuesday and also continues its inquiry on Wednesday into low-energy computing. The Lords Communications and Digital Committee looks at the Online Safety Act implementation on Tuesday afternoon, while the Business, Innovation, Science and Trade Committee has TikTok and minister Kate Dearden among the witnesses for its session on consumer protection that afternoon.
In today's edition:
✋ Founder and investor Laura Rowson on how to put agents to work in regulated companies
📚 The pain and potential gain of AI adoption
🍟 Fractile closes in on a £4bn valuation
