Leveraging AI to boost productivity will top the UK's tech agenda in 2024, as the country's IT industry and startups try to regain lost momentum, while tech job seekers will have to adapt to a market changing, according to predictions from industry experts. Here are tech predictions for the UK in 2024.
AI will bring opportunities and risks to the UK
The UK's AI strategy is clear: the government sees artificial intelligence as a key way to boost productivity and the stagnant economy, even as it recognizes that the technology can also bring new challenges.
“We should look at AI more as a co-pilot than as something that is necessarily going to replace someone's job. “AI is a tool that can help almost everyone do their job faster, better and faster, and that is how we see it being implemented,” said UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak at a summit on AI held in November 2023 at Bletchley Park, headquarters of the wartime codebreakers.
The UK also wants to be a leading voice on AI security: in the Bletchley Park Declaration, which emerged from the same summit, nations agreed to work to understand AI threats and work to mitigate them.
SEE: Impact of AI on UK jobs: 10% to 30% of jobs could be automated with AI (TechRepublic)
The first big test for the UK's AI strategy will come in 2024, when politics and AI are likely to collide. The UK's cybersecurity agency, the National Cyber Security Centre, has warned that AI will facilitate the spread of fake news in the run-up to the next general election, which is likely to take place in the second half of 2024.
“Large Language Models (LLM) will almost certainly be used to generate manufactured content; that hyper-realistic robots will facilitate the spread of disinformation; and that deepfake campaigns are likely to make further headway in the run-up to the next national vote,” the NCSC said. “The NCSC also assesses that democratic events, such as elections, almost certainly present attractive targets for malicious actors and therefore organizations and individuals should be prepared for threats, old and new.”
Many UK companies to reconsider technology investments
The UK government has an ambition to create half of the tech unicorns (i.e. companies worth more than $1 billion) in Europe by 2030 and have a similar level of venture capital investment as a proportion of the Gross Domestic Product than the United States.
Last year proved to be difficult for UK software and IT services as the market saw little to no growth and 2024 could be challenging for the UK, according to technology analyst firm TechMarketView. “This toughened environment, combined with other challenging factors such as increasing cyber threats, growing competitive pressure, and rising employee and customer expectations, is forcing many organizations to rethink technology investments,” he said in a post on their annual predictions.
“In 2024, buyers will be much more focused on ensuring they are prepared to adopt and realize – at pace – the value of emerging technologies,” the analyst said. That will mean investing in AI, which in turn can play a critical role in increasing the pace of broader digital transformation strategies, analysts said, as companies make greater efforts to finally rethink their legacy systems in 2024. .
Fintech will mature
In terms of the technology that is booming in the UK, financial technology (fintech) companies have had notable success in the last decade, capitalizing on the historic status of London's financial district. The fintech sector is made up of more than 1,600 companies, making it the largest in Europe.
Law firm Shoosmiths said fintechs are likely to see market consolidation in 2024, with smaller, less profitable companies being bought up. “Fintechs will to some extent shift their focus from ‘novelty’ and disruption to maturity and stability,” Shoosmiths said in its predictions for the year.
UK hiring to rise
Tech hiring had a tough year in 2023, with companies generally more cautious than before; In an unpredictable business environment, they were reluctant to commit to big hiring decisions, Bev White, CEO of recruiting firm Nash Squared, told TechRepublic via email.
“However, there are signs that confidence is beginning to recover somewhat as macroeconomic conditions begin to improve modestly. The collective view is that this growth in confidence will continue and translate into more activity and increased hiring as 2024 progresses, as companies increase meeting their ever-present technology resource needs,” he said.
SEE: Crucial skills gaps in the UK include artificial intelligence and strategic thinking, according to Red Hat (TechRepublic)
Goodbye 3G networks, hello 5G?
This year there will be a major technological transition: Vodafone, EE and the Three Networks will have to turn off their 3G networks. Data from telecoms regulator Ofcom shows that, at the end of 2023, there were still around 2.4 million devices relying on 2G or 3G networks, although 3G only accounts for 3% of network data traffic. Consumers still using 3G devices will need to upgrade; Businesses should check if any of their wireless devices, such as alarms or payment terminals, will need to be replaced or upgraded.
Most mobile traffic is carried over 4G, while Ofcom said the availability of 5G continues to “grow rapidly” and its rollout will continue until 2024: for example, the London Underground network will gain 5G connectivity this year.
Wireless and broadband connectivity is going from nice-to-have to vital – tech analyst CCS Insight predicts that in a major European market, a “connectivity performance rating” could be required before any property is sold by 2025 . This would rate each network operator's indoor and outdoor mobile coverage and the current and expected state of full fiber broadband, he said, reflecting how the level of connectivity impacts property prices.
