FORMER DRAGONS’ DEN INVESTOR WARNS UK MUST KEEP UP WITH US AI POLICY
BRITAIN needs to ensure it doesn’t end up “in the slow lane” as the economy races towards an AI-driven future.
That’s the view of former Dragon’s Den star Piers Linney, who is now one of the country’s leading experts in this area.
He thinks the UK faces a pivotal moment in shaping its economic and technological destiny.
Piers, Implement AI co-founder and AI & Tech Lead at leading business AI partner Champions (UK) plc, said the UK must take a proactive approach to growth, innovation, and global competitiveness.
He said: “None of us want to see Britain in the slow lane. We need to do something about that. Trump is all about America first, which to some extent they’ve got more ability to shout about around the world than we have. But being very UK first, we need to have a plan and be positive about it.
“People will scoff when the chancellor was asking the regulator about what they could do to spur growth. You should take that quite seriously. If you work with any regulator sectors, you will know we don’t want to slow down growth, innovation and the pace of change with AI and technology.
“Looking at Trump again, they’re probably 500 billion into a new project in terms of AI infrastructure.
The recent Davos 2025 showcased groundbreaking insights into AI, blockchain, and cryptocurrency, highlighting lessons that businesses must understand to thrive. The emergence of companies like DeepSeek was among the notable trends discussed.
Piers, who recently shared his views about AI on Times Radio, continued: “What the US is very good at is throwing 100 million at a new business in the artificial intelligence world, on the on the off chance there’s a 10% chance, maybe even higher these days, that is successful and we don’t really see that here.
“The EU’s sort of risk-based approach, I don’t think they’ve quite got it right, and that’s slowing down adoption and the launch of AI technology in Europe from the US.
“I still think the AI Opportunity Action Plan was good news, but again it’s fine at that high level launching and talking about it, but how do you get this technology in the hands of our SMEs, our businesses? Because we’re still suffering from low productivity. One thing we need to change here is growth, people talk about the death loop, the death spiral almost, that inflation persists.
“But yes, I am a big fan of the UK beginning to be positive, getting our infrastructure plans right, not worrying.”
“In 10 years, the world’s going to be very different place. What I don’t want to happen or hear is that we’re just plodding along, talking about things, hoping they’ll go away, and we need systemic bold change.”
