Artificial Intelligence (AI) could double the UK’s economic growth over the next two decades – with Bristol at the forefront of the revolution, city business leaders have been told.
An event staged by the Bristol office of accountancy, investment management and tax group Smith & Williamson heard from the firm’s investment management Chris Ford, who said AI is already transforming sectors as diverse as agriculture, legal services, broadcast media and medical technology. 
Entitled ‘Harnessing technology for growth’, the breakfast briefing was aimed at senior executives and owner-managers eager to find out more about the impact of AI.
Mr Ford told them: “The sheer proliferation of artificial intelligence platforms is quite startling.
“The estimates say that AI has the potential to double economic growth over the next 20 years and the message to businesses is: ‘If you are not using AI platforms in your business now, you must start to do so’.
“The only barrier to adoption is not having someone in your organisation with the creativity and wit to appreciate the opportunities.”
He said those in the room may not realise that there were several organisations at the forefront of AI technology on their doorstep in Bristol, including the Bristol Robotics Laboratory at UWE and Graphcore, a world leader in machine learning.
Mr Ford, who manages Smith & Williamson’s AI Fund, which invests in companies able to demonstrate revenue growth that is being driven by development or application of AI, was joined at the event by Smith & Williamson associate director Helen Bassett, who focused onAI and automation in cloud accounting systems, and Ian Mann, CEO of ECSE, the UK’s longest-running full-service cyber security solutions provider, who provided an overview of the most important and common cyber threats which businesses face.
Helen said: “Technology is fundamentally changing how we live and work. It can feel overwhelming for businesses to keep up to date with the latest technological developments – particularly where HMRC initiatives such as Making Tax Digital are encouraging them to digitalise their internal systems within a set timeframe.
“Understanding how technology can be leveraged effectively to implement efficiencies, through both automation tools and the AI within in cloud technology, can unlock key competitive advantages and support business growth.”
