Centre for AI Policy and Impact

Purpose + Mission 

The Centre for AI Policy and Impact is designed to bridge the gap between the technical potential of AI and its practical impact on public services, the economy and wider society.  

Approach 

We deliver public trust and sentiment tracking, adoption and impact analysis, policy and ethical frameworks and strategic advisory services grounded in evidence. Our long track record of methodological and public policy expertise means Ipsos in the UK is uniquely placed to help navigate the nuance, revealing the drivers and barriers to adoption and use of AI, as well as understanding the opportunities and risks and what they mean for different parts of society.

Our evidence about the AI transition draws on insights from key audiences:

• Businesses
• Experts
• Academics
• Government stakeholders
• General public and services users
• Frontline staff in different sectors

We use a blend of traditional and more innovative research and advisory approaches to help clients understand and navigate the AI transition. These include evaluations, surveys, and the full range of qualitative, ethnographic and passive methodologies. This multidisciplinary approach provides a holistic understanding of AI's current and future impact and leads to actionable outcomes and recommendations for our clients.

Senior leadership team 

Trinh TU, Managing Director, Ipsos Public Affairs	Daniel Cameron, Research Director, Ipsos	Jamie Douglas, Research Director, Ipsos
Email / Connect on |	Email / Connect on |	Email / Connect on

Case studies and key insights

For AI systems to be widely embraced and adopted by citizens, businesses and government services alike, people need to have confidence that the technology is safe, secure, well-governed and aligned with societal values and priorities. We help the public sector to develop AI solutions that staff and communities understand and believe in, ensuring a more robust and future-ready economy.

AI Skills for Life and Work:

• This research supported by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) explores the pivotal AI skills required in the evolving AI landscape, both now and within the next 10 years, with a focus on skills both for everyday life and work. Our research reveals that the UK faces significant AI skills shortages, particularly in interpreting AI outputs and understanding associated risks. The research reveals it’s not all about technical skills – skills for understanding AI outputs, evaluating their accuracy and anticipating their impact on people, workers and society are also crucial.
   

Making AI work for Europe 

• Ipsos released a new report, commissioned by Google, examining the barriers that European businesses face in adopting AI and how those barriers could be overcome, in light of the EU’s policy objective to leverage AI for economic growth and competitiveness. It highlights the uneven adoption landscape and how important human-centric barriers are to understanding use of AI. The report outlines three guiding principles for policymakers, business leaders and technology providers.

What the UK thinks about AI:

• The latest wave of our research exploring public attitudes to AI, delivered in partnership with the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, highlights our consistent finding that many people in the UK remain cautious about AI and want to know more about the impact it will have on the economy, wider society, and on their own lives. The findings emphasise the importance of building public trust as AI becomes more embedded in the economy and society.
   

Supporting government to use AI:

• We are working with government to help embed AI-enabled approaches in research, evaluation and policy development. This has included workshops and training sessions for government departments and agencies, grounded in our knowledge of using AI in an informed way to improve outcomes and drive efficiencies.
   

Global attitudes to AI: 

• Our global research on AI allows us to put the UK in a wider context. In our latest report we explore changing attitudes towards usage of AI, where AI will have the biggest impact, and what a future with AI looks like.