Cisco: UK needs to boost AI skills to be a global tech leader
The chief technology officer of Cisco UK has warned that the lack of artificial intelligence (AI) skills in the UK needs to be urgently addressed in order to strengthen its position as a global tech leader.
“There’s a huge opportunity that AI opens up for the UK, and I think that organisations across the board can look at this as a pivotal moment to lean in and get ahead of it,” Chintan Patel told City PM.
According to Patel, the UK is currently unprepared for its digital future and it needs to boost its digital and AI skills to maintain competitiveness on the global stage.
His comments come as the global tech giant released its first ‘AI readiness index’ yesterday.
Only 18 per cent of surveyed organisations reported feeling “very well resourced” to embrace AI.
The survey, conducted among over 8,000 global business leaders, revealed an openness to AI adoption at the board and C-suite levels. Further down the chain, however, there is less appetite.
Over two-thirds of Cisco’s survey respondents believe they have a year at most to initiate an AI strategy before falling behind the competition.
“The urgency is there, and I think companies really need to lean in now,” Patel said.
He welcomed the UK government’s pursuit of becoming a global science and technology superpower, saying it is a “huge area of competitive differentiation for the UK”.