People in Yorkshire are no stranger to change. This county has always been a cradle for invention and innovation.
It is the birthplace of stainless steel, the marine chronometer, the world’s oldest continually working railway and the X-ray.
Yorkshire is now at the centre of another major technological change – the advent of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
AI is no longer an abstract idea – it is already changing how we live learn and work.
Scientists are discovering new drugs in months instead of years. Doctors are diagnosing diseases more accurately. Teachers are saving time on lesson planning and marking. Small businesses are using AI to cut admin and understand their customers.
The possibilities are enormous – but so is the risk of repeating the mistakes of the past where opportunities were uneven and communities were left behind.
And that is what brings me to Barnsley. Once a lynchpin of British manufacturing in the last Industrial Revolution, Barnsley is now stepping forward to lead the next one.
Because today Barnsley becomes the UK’s first Tech Town – and with it the chance to be a national trailblazer for how AI can be used in public services, health, education, and at work improve everyday lives, for people from all backgrounds.
All with the full heft of the British state firmly behind the town’s ambitions – but led by local people, for local people.
By fully embracing the opportunities offered by this new technology we can transform lives, businesses and services.
It could result in smoother NHS check-ins and faster triage at Barnsley Hospital, teachers using safe AI tools to improve pupils’ learning, and free AI and digital skills training for people of all ages, so no one is shut out of the jobs and opportunities of the future.
And the expansion of The Seam Digital Campus into one of the UK’s first dedicated AI campuses will mean businesses get the support they need to adapt to the age of AI.
Crucially, some of the world’s most influential tech companies – Microsoft, Cisco and Adobe – are backing Barnsley’s ambitions.
Barnsley is already ahead of the curve, thanks to local leaders and innovators who are harnessing technology’s potential, right now. This is one of the first councils to use AI to ease the paperwork burden on social care teams.
Young people at Barnsley College are already getting hands-on experience with cutting-edge technology.
Health on the high street is modernising how residents access health checks. Even robot delivery dogs have been trialled on the town’s pavements. Barnsley has never been afraid to try something new.
Barnsley’s Tech Town status will help build on this progress.
And at the heart of it all is the people of Barnsley themselves. Over the coming months, residents will be invited to a series of “Tech Town Halls” to help shape how AI is used in their schools, hospitals, workplaces and high streets. This is AI built with the community, not imposed on it.
If we can show – here in Barnsley – that AI can make a child more confident in the classroom, make a visit to hospital quicker and easier, or help a local business grow, then we can show what is possible for the whole country. Barnsley was at the heart of industrial revolution.
Now it has the chance to be the showcase for the technological revolution – and this time, we are determined that no one is left behind.