Spreading the AI Dividend

The UK stands at a pivotal moment in the development and deployment of artificial intelligence. In recent months, we’ve seen a wave of announcements, funding pledges, and strategic plans that recognise AI’s transformative potential to reshape our economy, public services, and global competitiveness. But to truly harness this opportunity, we must ensure that the benefits of AI are distributed equitably across the entire country, driving future economic and social growth.

Our event will start with an opening talk from Tim Flagg, Chief Executive of UKAI, outlining the challenges and opportunities for AI businesses across the UK. We will then hear from a panel of experts who will explore this theme in more detail, before a question and answer session

This event will explore the Government’s commitments to develop the AI industry across the UK, primarily through AI Growth Zones (AIGZs) – designated areas across the UK where targeted investment, skills development, infrastructure and policy support can be clustered to establish and harness powerful local ecosystems.

The session will bring together policymakers, regional leaders, investors, academia, and industry to explore how diffusion can be delivered, spreading AI capabilities, R&D activity, and entrepreneurial opportunity across towns and cities that have historically been underrepresented in the tech economy. With the right support, AIGZs can become hubs of innovation that generate high-value jobs, attract international investment, and address regional inequalities, while embedding responsible AI practices from the ground up.

With its thriving digital sector, West Yorkshire is leading the way. Leeds is home to the UK’s second-largest cluster of high-growth digital firms, while the West Yorkshire Mayoralty’s Digital Blueprint is providing a roadmap for regional AI growth.

This event will examine the bigger picture:

• How can place-based investment support national leadership in AI?
• What should the UK aim to lead in — from life sciences to creative industries to responsible AI governance?
• How do we build trusted, impactful AI ecosystems beyond the South East?

Panel 1: Shaping Regional AI Ecosystems: The Role of Local Leadership

This panel will explore local initiatives, evaluating success stories, drawing on lessons from regional planning, infrastructure, and investment. This panel will bring together local councillors, combined authorities, and regional policymakers to reflect on what has worked, and what hasn’t, in efforts to drive digital and AI-led development. The discussion will explore how regions can align planning, infrastructure, skills pipelines, and partnerships to create thriving AI ecosystems. Panellists will consider lessons from initiatives like West Yorkshire’s Digital Blueprint and share insights into the barriers, trade-offs, and opportunities they’ve encountered when trying to embed AI into local growth strategies.

Panel 2: Planning the Future: Unlocking AI-Driven Regional Growth

This panel will examine where industry sees the greatest opportunities for AI-led growth, and what is needed from policy and investment to build world-class regional ecosystems.
This panel will shift the lens to industry leaders, investors, and innovators, asking where the real opportunities lie for the UK to lead globally while spreading growth locally. Discussion will cover the sectors with the greatest potential for AI leadership (from health and life sciences to advanced manufacturing and creative industries), what industry needs from government at both national and local levels, and how AI Growth Zones can become magnets for talent, capital, and R&D. By focusing on future opportunities, this session will highlight how industry and policymakers can work together to ensure that regional AI ecosystems deliver long-term competitiveness and inclusive prosperity.