House of Lords AI conference urges agent AI to ‘revive’ UK economy

Greater adoption of artificial intelligence could help revive Britain’s faltering economy, according to business and technology leaders speaking at an AI conference in the House of Lords.

The event, chaired by Steven George-Hilley, founder of Centropy PR, brought together top figures from the fields of technology, law, finance and cybersecurity to explore how AI is shaping economic growth, jobs and boardroom decision-making.

The central theme of the conference was the role of agent AI systems, autonomous tools able to work on goals with minimal human intervention, in helping small and medium-sized businesses to achieve advanced capabilities that were previously unattainable. Speakers argued that AI-driven sales, customer management and decision support systems can level the playing field for SMEs and unlock productivity gains across the economy.

Participants also warned of a looming “skills edge” as AI adoption accelerates, especially among small businesses that lack the resources to quickly retrain workers. Without targeted support, the UK risks widening the gap between large businesses and the SME sector that underpins the bulk of the economy, the conference heard.

Rupert Osborne, UK chief executive of Capital.com, said AI could play an important role in improving financial decisions by making complex market data easier to understand.

“Used responsibly, AI can organize data, explain market movements and make uncertainty more visible, so decisions are informed by context and risk, not just value,” he said. “Many people don’t use traditional savings products because investing sounds dull or scary. AI can help build the foundation for a more effective way of learning about finance in the UK.”

Cybersecurity was also high on the agenda, with speakers stressing that the AI-led revolution must be accompanied by robust defences.

Graeme Stewart, head of public sector at Check Point Software, said AI has the potential to transform public services such as healthcare and local government, but warned that security should not be an afterthought.

“We have seen how ruthless hackers can be when it comes to targeting vulnerable organizations,” he said. “Cyber ​​resilience must be built into AI strategies from the start to ensure public trust and protect sensitive data as detection accelerates.”

From a financial services perspective, Jan Tlaskal, senior data engineer at Galytix, argued that specialized, highly reliable AI systems were becoming a strategic need.

“With globalization, increasing regulatory complexity and growing compliance requirements, agent AI is not something to shy away from,” he said. “It’s the benefit of risk management strategies that can improve data accuracy, enable faster investment decisions and support sustainable growth.”

The conference concluded that while AI will definitely reshape jobs and workflows, agent AI offers a significant opportunity to improve productivity and competitiveness, as long as skills, safety and responsible deployment are considered priorities rather than secondary concerns.