‘The Golden Boys’ statue stands proudly outside the International Convention Centre (ICC) in Birmingham, celebrating three men who pioneered the Industrial Revolution in the late 18th century. It somehow felt quite fitting to walk past the gilded bronze statue of Matthew Boulton, James Watt and William Murdoch en route to an AI Symposium at the ICC that marked the latest ‘revolution’ during Birmingham Tech Week.
From the get-go, the city’s (and the region’s) intentions were made very clear when it comes to AI. “We don’t want to be a follower; we want to set the pace.”
The West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) seems to be adopting the same bullish approach, by embedding AI into the region’s wider Growth Plan, which was announced back in July. It used the AI Symposium as an opportunity to officially introduce its newly published AI Missions document, which sets out how the region is leading in experimentation and adoption of AI.
Mike Lewis, Strategic Lead for the West Midlands Digital Roadmap at the WMCA, explained the region’s role in the £47 billion growth journey. The authority has five missions. These include:
- Making the West Midlands the UK’s AI testbed for public services and business innovation, increasing AI-related R&D funding and maintaining its position as the UK’s second most investable region
- Supporting companies across all sectors to adopt AI responsibly and effectively, ensuring that at least 60% of businesses are adopting AI technologies
- Implementing its AI Academy (also officially launched at the Symposium) approach, by ensuring all residents and workforces can access high quality AI training.
Clare Boden-Hatton, Director of Planning and Performance at Coventry City Council, spoke passionately about the importance of the AI Academy in unlocking growth and vital funding. “None of that happens without people,” she told a packed Hall 9 at the ICC.
The West Midlands isn’t holding back in its ambitions. It wants to be the first region to have an AI Skills Entitlement, and it wants to make ‘AI for All’, whether that’s in the community, in business, or across public services.
While the AI Symposium gave the WMCA a platform to talk about the region’s approach to AI, across Centenary Square the conversation focused more on the role women have to play in driving technological advances in the West Midlands.
“Women aren’t just bystanders in the development of AI,” said Sara Warner, senior associate at Mills & Reeve, which hosted the Birmingham Tech Week Inspiring Women in Technology event. She was joined by a panel of four (Aditi Desai, Hollie Whittles, Suki Gill and Sarah Windrum), as they discussed how women can turn the challenge of AI into opportunities, and how they can play to their strengths (like empathy, collaboration and adaptability) in an increasingly AI-driven world.
When asked by the audience how we can get more women into senior AI roles, the message was clear – “You have to go back to the where the talent is coming from [primary and secondary schools] and enable those pathways to your organisation,” explained Whittles. By doing that, organisations can “break down those barriers”.
However, the challenge was made very clear: “Women are consumers of a lot of tech, but we don’t create enough of it,” said Windrum. As with the AI Symposium earlier in the day, it appears audiences, speakers and panelists are up for the task. With a slew of announcements during Birmingham Tech Week setting out grand ambitions and funding pledges, I wouldn’t bet against them achieving it.
