"Ignoring the skeptics and threat of an AI bubble, the UK government is pushing ahead with AI "sandboxing" and backing a raft of projects it claims could benefit from red-tape cutting. The moves come after it claimed civil service adoption of AI tools would save about 75,000 days of manual work each year. Reports have offered a mixed picture of returns for AI investment."
"Providing an £8.9 million investment, through Regulatory Innovation Office (RIO), the government says it is supporting projects which benefit from direct engagement with regulators to understand how to reduce unnecessary red tape. The 15 projects get between £100k and a £1 million each. For example, Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) gets £1 million backing for a pilot AI assistants to help its experts assess clinical trials more efficiently and consistently."
UK government is advancing AI sandboxing and funding multiple projects to reduce regulatory hurdles and accelerate AI adoption in public services. Civil service adoption of AI tools is estimated to save about 75,000 days of manual work annually. Evidence on AI returns is mixed, with research suggesting chatbots can increase workloads while some firms report productivity gains from tools like Microsoft 365 Copilot. The government committed £8.9m via the Regulatory Innovation Office to 15 projects receiving between £100k and £1m each. Funded pilots include MHRA AI assistants for clinical trial assessment, an AI age-classification tool for streamed video, and robot licensing trials in Milton Keynes. Sandboxing will permit temporary, controlled regulatory relaxations for testing.
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