Search Search Government promises £20m investment in robotics and artificial intelligence The Artificial Intelligence industry could add around £654 billion to the UK economy Click to follow The Independent Online A robot serves food at a restaurant in Shenyang, China Getty The government will launch a review into Artifical Intelligence (AI) and robotics in an attempt to make the UK a world leader in tech.
 The government said in a statement on Sunday that it would invest £17.
3 million in university research on AI.
 Artificial intelligence powers technologies such as Apple’s SIRI, Amazon’s Alexa, and driverless cars.
 According to a report by consultancy firm Accenture, Artificial Intelligence could add around £654 billion to the UK economy.
 Read more case A report by the Institute for Public Policy Research recently forecast that millions of jobs will be lost to automation over the next two decades.
 Researchers predicted that two million jobs retail jobs will disappear by 2030 and 600,000 will go in manufacturing.
 Jérôme Pesenti, CEO of Benevolent Tech, who will be leading government research into AI, said, “There has been a lot of unwarranted negative hype around Artificial Intelligence (AI), but it has the ability to drive enormous growth for the UK economy, create jobs, foster new skills, positively transform every industry and retain Britain’s status as a world leader in innovative technology.
 EU universal income must be 'seriously considered' amid rise of robots The announcement is part of the government’s new “Digital Strategy”, which will be announced in full on Wednesday.