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May 13, 2026
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For most of human history, there really was no meaningful increase in economic growth. Each year, an average human being generated essentially the same amount of wealth as before. That changed (very dramatically) in the period between 1750 and 1800 when the Industrial Revolution turned a flat graph into a hockey stick. Since then, GDP has risen consistently.
But a transformation is now underway that could expand our understanding of what growth looks like. That hockey stick may soon appear just the beginning.
What is most daunting about this next step is how unknown the future looks. In the past, innovation took years, if not decades. But technological advances now happen with almost bewildering speed. Artificial intelligence promises to turbo-charge productivity at a pace not seen before, while at the same time raising deeper questions about how we value each other and our work, how we can protect the planet and how we can create long-term resilience and affluence.
Much has been written about the effect of AI on global economies. Just this past March, OpenAI raised a further $3 billion from retail investors, finishing its record-breaking funding haul at $122 billion.
“Anyone who thinks they can predict the future probably won't be building the future”
But where does the UK stand in comparison to countries like the US and China? Does the UK have what it takes to become an AI leader or is it already too late? According to Nvidia’s CEO Jensen Huang, the UK has a golden opportunity. In September, Huang said publicly that the UK will become an “AI superpower.” This was while major US tech firms were pledging tens of billions of pounds in AI investment in the UK. With the third-largest AI market globally, the UK is looking to scale rapidly to maintain its competitive position.
Here, we explore what that transformation could mean for government, business and everyday working life in Britain.
These themes also form the basis of Intelligence Squared’s and IBM’s 2026 event series, The Age to Come. The first of four panels in this series, The Age of Growth, was made up of Prashant Jajodia, Dr. Laura Gilbert, Lee Ellis and was chaired by Fortune’s Executive Editorial Director, UK and Europe, Kamal Ahmed. Together, they discussed how the UK should go about driving exponential development while ensuring that that productivity is sustainable.
Bringing together expertise from both industry and government, the panel examined how AI is already transforming productivity and what Britain must do to translate that momentum into sustained economic growth. As Ahmed noted: “Anyone who thinks they can predict the future probably won’t be building the future.”
There are two challenges the UK government faces when it comes to ensuring it moves from a “middle power”: to becoming a leader in the AI race.
First, it must make – and guide – strategic and productive AI investments. Data centres sit at the heart of this debate and have often been described as essential building blocks. Some call for quick action, especially since the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) thinks AI data centres will consume 6GW of electricity by 2030. Others, like IBM’s CEO Arvind Krishna, warn that hyperscaling investment to meet hypothetical demand makes little economic sense. Data centres remain high-risk investments as long as the capabilities of the chips that are necessary to run them continue to change at an uncontrollable pace. We might end up investing in centres that are obsolete before they are financially successful.
Second, there is the trust factor. For now, public opinion is divided on data centres. According to a poll conducted by YouGov, 29% of people would strongly oppose the construction of an AI data centre in their local area. However, the majority of people (32%) responded “don’t know,” meaning there is still time to build awareness and earn public trust.
This is key. For Britain to become a destination for AI investment, the government needs to build trust in its ability to handle AI investment with care and ensure public service delivery is the best it can be.
“Trust in government is lower than trust in Facebook advertising…but the way you turn that around is that you explain openly and clearly to the public”
For Dr. Laura Gilbert, who spoke at the The Age of Growth event, building strong communication between the public and the government is essential in this next step. Dr. Gilbert is a Visiting Professor in Practice at the School of Public Policy. She is also Senior Director of AI and Head of the AI for Government program at the Tony Blair Institute. Previously, Dr. Gilbert was Founding Director of 10DS, Downing Street’s data-science team, and created i.AI, the UK government’s AI incubator.
In order to improve communication about AI, research must be done to understand what “behavioural science [can tell us] about the way people respond to things.” She added that “trust in government is lower than trust in Facebook advertising […] but the way you turn that around is that you explain openly and clearly to the public: why.”
If done correctly, AI integration into public services could be revolutionary. Prashant Jajodia, Managing Partner for the financial services sector in IBM Consulting (UK and Ireland), joined Dr. Gilbert for The Age of Growth panel. He discussed how IBM is passionate about public services, which are mission-critical for the UK economy. Talking about some of IBM’s recent work with the University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire (UHCW) NHS Trust, Jajodia discussed the dreaded long waiting times for NHS appointments. It is, unfortunately, common for people to not turn up to their appointments. By analysing attendance data, IBM developed a notification system that was able to create room for 700 extra appointments per week, increasing capacity massively. official to confirm the metrics.
In industries such as healthcare and financial services, there are critical interactions that require empathy, trust, personalisation, and relationship continuity. Research suggests that 83% of consumers still actively prefer human advisors despite an increasing focus on creating AI alternatives. We are all familiar with frustrating personal experiences of being forced to use AI chatbots when circumstances might demand we need human interaction. Consumers are willing to accept AI solutions for routine queries, but abandon these when queries are complex, when problems escalate or when emotions intensify. Those experiences reveal the balance to be struck in finding AI-enabled efficiencies alongside the enduring and deep preference for human-led problem resolution.
While public-sector adoption builds trust among the public, the private sector will ultimately determine how deeply AI transforms productivity, investment and everyday economic life in the UK.
AI implementation in the private sector is fundamentally about efficiency and productivity. Jajodia cited Enterprise 2030, a paper recently published by IBM’s Institute for Business Value. Across industries, the paper noted, 79% of the 3,000 executives interviewed for the project say AI will significantly contribute to their revenue by 2030.
“AI has the capacity to overhaul the traditional relationship between businesses and consumers”
For Jajodia, the implication is clear: businesses cannot treat AI as a marginal efficiency tool. Integrating increasingly sophisticated AI systems will require broader organisational transformation.
Jajodia went on to add that IBM is not only looking outwardly when it comes to the revenue potential of AI in the private sector. Internally, IBM says it has saved more than £4.5 billion through AI integration across HR, customer service, finance and technology operations. This exceeded expectations; when Krishna first outlined IBM’s AI strategy in 2024, he predicted the company would save £3 billion.
Yet the implications of AI adoption extend beyond productivity gains alone. AI has the capacity to overhaul the relationship between businesses and consumers.
“This makes personal finance the nation’s number one use of AI”
Lee Ellis, Chief Digital Officer at Royal London Group, confirmed this on the Age of Growth panel. Royal London is a mutual provider of pensions, life insurance and investments. Ellis discussed how generative AI could widen access to financial guidance for consumers traditionally excluded from formal advice. He noted that, at the moment, 91% of the UK population are not receiving financial advice from financial services. Increasingly, consumers may turn to AI systems for this kind of guidance instead. In fact, Ellis cited a 2025 study by Lloyds Banking Group that found that more than 28 million UK adults are now turning to artificial intelligence to help manage their money. This makes personal finance the nation’s number one use of AI.
For firms such as Royal London, this creates a new responsibility: not only supporting customers directly, but ensuring AI systems themselves are trained on reliable financial information. By taking a leading role, UK companies like Royal London hope to remain central to a rapidly changing financial-services value chain.
In a world where Royal London’s customers can simply turn to ChatGPT for financial advice, the company must now work to be visible on the very tools driving this change in the industry. Ellis mentions that, previously, to get their company’s name, its values and its story out there brands had to focus on search engine optimisation. We are now in the era of generative engine optimisation. Royal London is making sure that the information found on its own sites and presented by its own chatbots shows up in the language models that increasingly people are using to make decisions about their own finances. That way, Royal London can continue to engage current and future customers wherever they are.
The Industrial Revolution changed how humans produced economic value and it forever changed the way we live alongside, and benefit from, machines. The AI revolution has introduced us to a whole new category of machines – one that innovates so quickly we aren’t entirely sure what these machines are and what they can do. The challenge facing the UK now is not simply whether the country can become an “AI superpower,” but whether it can build an AI economy that delivers sustainable growth while maintaining public confidence in the systems reshaping modern life. We need this new form of growth, and we need to grow in harmony alongside the machines that are driving it.