UK STEM sector losing billions due to AI tool shortage

New research conducted by STEM-specialists SThree finds that STEM professionals in the United Kingdom are losing around six hours a week each due to inadequate access to advanced AI tools, leading to a significant productivity gap.

The report, titled "How the STEM world works," attributes a GBP £64 billion annual loss in productivity to this shortage. This issue is seen as more severe in the UK compared to other nations involved in the study, with 30% of UK STEM professionals identifying productivity as the area most impacted by a lack of AI resources.

Among STEM workers, one in five is reportedly spending an entire working day per week on tasks that could be expedited with AI. Additionally, half of the respondents feel their companies are lagging behind their peers in terms of AI adoption.

SThree surveyed over 2,500 STEM professionals from five leading STEM economies including the US, UK, Japan, Germany, and the Netherlands to understand their perspectives on their companies' efforts to embrace AI.

The study highlights that there is a disconnect between the willingness of STEM professionals to adopt AI and the readiness of company leaders to implement such technologies. In the survey, more than two-thirds of STEM employees expressed that advanced AI would enhance company growth. However, 45% indicated that their leadership does not understand how such technologies could improve their work, with 59% describing their leaders as "digitally illiterate."

Tom Way, Managing Director of SThree UK, stated, "UK businesses need to implement AI-related change but the pace of implementation remains a challenge. There is a huge STEM skills gap in the economy yet here we have STEM specialists crying out for change to become more productive. It is not exaggerating to say that this reluctance to embrace AI is a risk to our economic future."

The research also found that while 82% of STEM employees have proposed tech or software innovations, 71% of these proposals have not been successful. The majority cited their company leadership's lack of digital literacy as a key factor in the failure of their proposals.

Tom Way further commented, "If any type of worker can identify the positive benefits of AI, it's a STEM professional. Business leaders must catch up with the rapid pace of technological development, and it is clear in some cases that means being far more open-minded about AI. Allowing access to advanced AI tools is crucial for maintaining productivity and staying competitive. By failing to act now, organisations are hindering their own growth and risk losing their best talent."