Scheme to support Isle of Man AI use launched

A platform with 200 hours of online training will be launched later this month

A programme to upskill the community on the Isle of Man on the use of artificial intelligence has been launched.

In the government’s Island Plan set a target of a 10% increase in GDP by 2030 driven by artificial intelligence (AI) "enhanced productivity”.

The Activate AI initiative aims to educate and support businesses and residents in using the technology through a training platform, newsletter and a partnership project.

Digital Isle of Man chief executive Lyle Wraxell said the programme, and public roadshows to explain it, would ensure the island “keeps up with the rapidly evolving technology”.

Mr Wraxell confirmed the agency had “pivoted” on previous plans to employ a head of AI with a salary of £100,000 as “partnering with industry has provided a solution to us to tap into those skills”.

'Increase productivity'

The programme’s applied AI service, based a Hilary House in Douglas, will pair companies up with firms more experienced in using the technology to explore how business problems might be solved for free.

Agency board member Jason Bissell said the approach would create “an eco-system of partners” that would help interested businesses “get their fingers on a keyboard” and experiment to understand the possible value to their business.

The agency also aimed to launch a platform with more than 200 hours of online training, some of it specifically created for the island, including an AI for Everyone course by the end of August.

A series of roadshows across the island, explaining the Activate AI programme, are taking place between 12 and 15 August.

Mr Wraxell said the programme would share knowledge and applications which could “increase productivity and skills across the economy”.

A long-term national AI strategy is due to be published by the end of the year, with funding to deliver it up to the 2030 target expected to be in the region of £5m.