House of Lords AI Summit Highlights Skills Cliff Threatening UK’s Competitive Edge
A summit held at the House of Lords during London Tech Week has sounded the alarm over a looming “skills cliff edge” in the UK workforce, as artificial intelligence (AI) continues to reshape the economy and redefine job roles across industries.
AI Takedown: The UK’s Decisive Moment
Stepping into the ring, Steven George‑Hilley, founder of Centropy PR, steered a virtual summit that felt less like a conference and more like a high‑stakes debate. Tech gurus, legal wizards, finance buffs and cyber champions all joined the table to hash out why the future of AI isn’t just a tech fad—it’s a national priority.
The Verdict
- UK risk: Barely keep up if we don’t hustle building an AI‑savvy workforce.
- Data safety: Protect integrity like it’s the crown jewels.
- Ethics: Put moral guardrails before sending the next algorithm out into the wild.
Cyber Warsget+
Achi Lewis‑Dhaliwal of Absolute Security slammed the point that AI is turbo‑charging cyber‑attacks, especially in data‑hungry sectors like finance.
“Financial services hold mountains of sensitive data, and AI‑enhanced attackers are spamming that valley. We need to talk about real‑world risk scenarios to leaf‑the UK’s critical infrastructure sturdy,” he warned.
AI for the Police and Public Safety
Leigh Allen of Cellebrite showed how the tool is turning digital forensics into a supercharged sprint: “AI unlocks digital evidence, shaving investigation time down. If we pair it with ethical access, we can build safer communities and stronger justice systems.”
Missing a Master Plan?
James Tuttiett from FDM Group called out a glaring gap: there’s no single strategy in the UK. “Everyone’s still tinkering; the finale is inevitable,” he said. “We must teach people how to ask the right questions of AI, not just trust its answers. Prompt engineering is the new survival skill.”
Privacy Pitfalls
Arkadiy Ukolov, founder of Ulla Technology warned: “When popular AI tools forward user data to third‑party model training, sensitive meetings or client chats spill into the void. Ethics must sit center stage in the Lords’ debate—so AI serves society, not steals it.”
Clean Data, Clean Future
Stuart Harvey, CEO of Datactics, pleaded that data quality shouldn’t be a footnote. “Rush into AI with cobbled data pieces, and you’ll get unreliable, even harmful outputs. Let’s obsess over high‑quality, trustworthy datasets before hitting ‘GO’.”
AI on the Construction Frontline
Chris Davison from NavLive is bullish on building tech: “Real‑time 2D/3D building modeling saves architects and engineers heaps of time and cash. This is where AI fuels real economic growth.”
In short, the UK sits at a pivotal crossroads. Whether we leap into the AI future or stick with yesterday’s tools will determine if we’re the innovators or the ones left behind. The summit served as a wake‑up call—and a blueprint—for a smarter, safer tomorrow.
