Policy Connect’s first roundtable for the "Skills in the Age of AI" inquiry was held in Parliament last week and addressed the digital and AI literacy skills needed by citizens in their daily lives and workplaces.

The event, co-chaired by Lord Tim Clement-Jones and Lord Chris Holmes, brought together participants from industry, academia, and the third sector.

Key issues discussed included citizen choice and freedom in the face of rapid technological change. The roundtable acknowledged that for the 13-19 million adults in digital poverty, engaging with AI is a significant challenge. Participants emphasised the need for a lifelong culture of learning and inquisitiveness, starting with media literacy at the primary school level.

The discussion highlighted that it's unrealistic to expect every citizen to be trained to manage AI risks effectively. These risks range from financial harms to life-changing decisions made by AI in public services. The government's role in providing general protections through regulatory guardrails was emphasized, including the potential use of kitemarks and certification to build trust.

Various factors relevant to improving digital and AI literacy were discussed during the roundtable:

1. The need to address young people's understanding of privacy and security implications.
2. The importance of critical thinking skills, with the Netherlands cited as an example where information literacy is taught from age 5.
3. The necessity of lifelong learning due to rapid technological change.
4. The challenges faced by those in digital poverty and the need for a gradual upskilling journey.
5. The potential of AI as a learning tool, such as using AI translation to remove barriers.

The discussion also touched on the need for a national engagement strategy to address the feeling of loss of agency and choice among citizens. Participants suggested focusing on how AI can support a better quality of life, keeping humans in decision-making roles supported by AI-provided data.

The session featured insightful contributions from:

• Oona Muirhead (Policy Connect) and Keeley Crockett (Manchester Metropolitan University).
• Elizabeth Anderson (Digital Poverty Alliance).
• Silkie Carlo (Big Brother Watch).
• Hugh Milward (Microsoft).
• Parsa Ghaffari (Quantexa).

For further information and for the full writeup of the discussion, please get in touch with Alyson Hwang (Alyson.hwang [at] policyconnect.org.uk (Alyson[dot]hwang[at]policyconnect[dot]org[dot]uk)).