CogX: A temperature check for the UK’s tech ambitions

After this year’s CogX Festival, it is clear the tech sector is moving towards ‘listening mode’, wanting to reflect the growing concerns about the impact that advanced artificial intelligence could have on society.  

With the perils of AI development taking a very prominent space in the public consciousness, speakers made determined reference to the work they are doing to mitigate some of the most pressing risks associated with the technology.  

There was still plenty of the drive towards innovation you would expect – this time with an added note of self-reflection.  

A few insights from this year’s conference…  

The policy landscape 

In just under two months’ time, the UK Government will be hosting world leaders and titans of industry at the first-of-its-kind AI Safety Summit. No wonder, then, that the policy focus of the CogX Festival was firmly on what the Government hopes will be a blockbuster event leading to actionable steps for international collaboration on AI.  

The Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, Michelle Donelan, opened her keynote speech by trailing the upcoming summit, and with accompanying video of the Prime Minister and Secretary of State talking about the UK’s chance to lead on AI.  

The speech itself teased one potential outcome from the Summit; the Frontier AI Taskforce being placed on more solid ground and becoming part of a “more permanent, and perhaps even international, institutional structure in the future”. Donelan finished her speech with an ask of AI developers to put forward their plans for responsible capability scaling. It appears the UK Government is also in ‘listening mode’.  

We were given further insight into how the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology is considering policy for the ever-evolving tech environment. Sarah Munby, the department’s Permanent Secretary, outlined the three challenges facing tech policymakers: the complexity of the technologies, the dynamism of the pace of technological advancement, and the fragmentation of international regulation. Clearly, it is no small effort to overcome these challenges. Whilst Munby recognised that the department still had room to develop its skills and knowledgebase, the overall framework she outlined for the Department’s approach should bring some comfort to the industry. Munby wants her department to provide clarity, agility, and leadership – ambitions the sector is likely to welcome.  

Key trends and takeaways 

Unsurprisingly, climate and net zero were front of mind for many at the conference. This was visible at the start-up hall with lots of early-stage exhibitors presenting solutions aimed at saving the planet. It was an issue that became a red thread throughout the whole conference, because at the end of the day, how do you talk about the future without talking about the environment? This wasn’t reserved only for early-stage innovators: with Google’s EMEA Head of Sustainability Adam Elman putting out a bold statement to the carbon removal industry stating: “We’ve got the money, we want to buy.” This collaborative approach to tackling climate change through technology is clearly the way forward and a company’s ability to communicate across that ecosystem will be critical to realising that ambition. 

“The UK is actually quite a good place to start a business” was the positive shout of The Scale Up Institute’s Head of Public Affairs Josh Robson as he discussed the trifactor of talent, thriving hubs and equity we have for businesses in the UK. It was clear from the research he presented that there are reasons to be cheerful about the tech and other high growth sectors in the UK.  

The search for growth was clear to see and we heard from companies at both ends of the spectrum from the early-stage innovators to companies that are well ahead on the scale journey. In a discussion about the challenges of scaling a business, Builder.AI’s Sachin Dev Duggal talked about the need to be prescriptive in your messaging, which lead the company to create “The Builder Way of Life” so all new employees understand and share the vision of the company.  This is a shrewd observation of and response to a communications challenge that emerges as businesses experience rapid growth. As Darktrace’s CEO Poppy Gustafsson put it, “find the person in your business who knows everything and build around them, so they don’t become a bottle neck.” To do this successfully requires a concerted effort to clear employee communications. 

Final thoughts 

There is still a battle on for the UK to be positioned at the forefront of artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies. What is clear from this year’s conference is that there is an ecosystem of companies in the UK, large and small, which are continuing to innovate despite a hugely challenging macro environment. The task of policymakers is to create a supportive environment for these innovators to work, collaborate and grow in the UK. Whilst there is debate over whether this can be achieved, it is more important than ever that there is an open dialogue between tech innovators, the start-up ecosystem and policymakers.  

Quotes of the conference 

• “This will be the biggest bubble of all time, because this is infrastructure for humanity.” – Emad Mostaque, Founder & CEO, Stability AI on the potential of generative AI 
• “Transformational technology requires exceptional care.” – Lila Ibrahim, Chief Operating Officer, Google Deepmind on the responsibility that AI developers have for ensuring safety 
• “The cost of innovation is nowhere near the cost of doing nothing.” – Lucas Joppa, Chief Sustainability Officer at Haveli Investments on tech’s role in the journey to net zero 

• “We’re probably at around Pacman.” – Nigel Toon, Founder & CEO at Graphcore discussing where we are in the development of artificial intelligence 
• “Climate and AI are on orthogonal paths; they are going to run into each other.” – Jonnie Penn, Assistant Professor of AI Ethics and Society at The University of Cambridge