The government has pledged to better support the UK's robotics and AI industry and will invest an additional 4.7 billion by 2020 in R&D - the biggest increase from any Parliament since 1979.
The Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund will also help the UK capitalise on its strengths in science and innovation such as robotics, adding another avenue for innovators to be awarded funding to help the UK become more competitive in the sector.
"We have often been slower than competitors to take up and deploy existing technologies: for example, the UK makes less use of robotics and automation than most other countries in Western Europe," the report explained.
Prime Minister Theresa May explained the government's Modern Industrial Strategy is a critical part of the UK's plan for post-Brexit Britain.
"As we leave the EU, it will help us grasp the bigger prize: the chance to build that stronger, fairer Britain that stands tall in the world and is set up to succeed in the long-term," she said."And it is a vital step toward building a country where prosperity is shared, and there is a genuine opportunity for all."
The Industrial Strategy also addressed the skills gap and pledges to ensure everyone has the basic skills needed in a modern economy through introducing technical education to help those who decide not to go to university. This will be implemented via 170 million freed up by local authorities to launch new "Institutes of Technology."
The government will also introduce STEM and digital skills and numeracy education for everyone, raising skill levels in lagging areas. MOD apprenticeships will be used as a launchpad to fill the skills gap via on-the-job training.
"The programme has a particular focus on STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering and maths), as well as entrepreneurial skills," the report said. "A team has been established in MoD to develop a joint apprenticeship scheme with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) by April 2017."
-
Cleo attack victim list grows as Hertz confirms customer data stolenNews Hertz has confirmed it suffered a data breach as a result of the Cleo zero-day vulnerability in late 2024, with the car rental giant warning that customer data was stolen.
-
Lateral moves in tech: Why leaders should support employee mobilityIn-depth Encouraging staff to switch roles can have long-term benefits for skills in the tech sector
-
Fit for artificial intelligencewhitepaper Ensure data availability to applications and services with hybrid cloud storage
-
Fit for AI
whitepaper Ensure data availability to applications and services with hybrid cloud storage
-
Can robots work safely alongside humans? This one industry leader thinks we're not far awayNews Humanoid robots and people will be able to work truly side-by-side this year, according to the CEO of one leading robotics company.
-
‘Archaic’ legacy tech is crippling public sector productivityNews The UK public sector has been over-reliant on contractors and too many processes are still paper-based
-
Public sector improvements, infrastructure investment, and AI pothole repairs: Tech industry welcomes UK's “ambitious” AI action planNews The new policy, less cautious than that of the previous government, has been largely welcomed by experts
-
Five key orchestration capabilities to achieve AI value at enterprise scalewhitepaper Realize ROI through greater productivity and better business outcomes
-
UK government trials chatbots in bid to bolster small business supportNews The UK government is running a private beta of a new chatbot designed to help people set up small businesses and find support.
-
Empowering enterprises with AI: Entering the era of choicewhitepaper How High Performance Computing (HPC) is making great ideas greater, bringing out their boundless potential, and driving innovation forward
