A House of Lords technology summit chaired by Centropy PR founder Steven George-Hilley has focused attention on the UK’s AI skills gap, with business leaders arguing that Britain must move faster if it wants to build an “AI-first” economy.
Held in the Palace of Westminster, the private breakfast brought together more than 20 senior executives to discuss how businesses can equip the next generation of workers to extract value from AI, while also addressing what some speakers described as a looming “skills cliff edge” in the existing workforce.
The discussion extended beyond training. Participants also looked at the role of agentic AI in giving SMEs greater access to professional sales and customer management systems, and at how wider adoption could feed into growth across the economy. Stuart MacDonald, Chief Operating Officer at TechnologyOne, focused on AI’s role in public services, particularly in local councils and universities, where digital access and automation are becoming more central to service delivery.
Dmitry Tikhomirov, Vice President of Technology Solutions at EPAM, said: “AI is changing how organisations operate by driving efficiency, improving decision-making and creating new paths to growth. But realising lasting value from AI takes more than technology alone. Business and technology leaders must work together, with the right platforms, skills and governance in place, so adoption scales with strategic priorities and delivers measurable outcomes.”
Rupert Osborne, UK CEO at Capital.com, also addressed the use of AI in financial knowledge and decision-making. He said: “The question we face in financial services is not whether AI can increase the volume of information available to people, but whether it improves the quality of the decisions they make with that information. Those are different problems. Broader access to financial education matters only if what people learn helps them understand risk, identify their own limits, and make considered choices, not simply act faster. The governance frameworks we build around AI in this space will determine whether the technology serves that purpose or works against it.”
The summit comes as the UK government continues to push AI investment, workforce training, and domestic capability through a series of recent initiatives. For business leaders, the pressure is shifting from experimentation to implementation, with skills, governance, and access now shaping how quickly adoption can move from pilots into day-to-day operations.
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