Artificial Intelligence Festival attracts hundreds of interested people in Milton Keynes

More than 1,000 people attended the event, which was organised Milton Keynes City Council.

It followed last year’s UK Government’s AI Safety Summit, an event that attracted global leaders and experts from all over the world to Bletchley Park.

Last week’s festival included a range of thought-provoking exhibitions to attract a diverse audience determined to learn about the opportunities presented by modern technologies.

The week started off at Bletchley Park where Cabinet Member for Economy, Sustainability, and Innovation, Cllr Shanika Mahendran chaired a panel discussion with the Chief Executive Officer of Bletchley Park, Iain Standen and Erika Lewis who served as Chief Executive Officer of the AI Safety Summit last year.

Throughout the festival, attendees took part in events, conferences and hackathons hosted by major organisations, including Bletchley Park, The Open University, His Majesty's Government Communications Centre, Santander and Protospace.

The final event marked the opening of the UK’s first Smart City Experience Centre in centre:mk. The centre is a joint initiative between private sector partners and the city council, serving as a shop window for customers to experience and interact with robots and digital technologies.

The festival also highlighted the ongoing work to boost the city’s position as a leader in the tech ecosystem and deliver on the city council’s Technology, Smart City, Digital and Creative Industries Strategy, cementing Milton Keynes’ global reputation as a smart city and the home of innovation. Already one in three jobs in the city are in tech, and the city council is determined to encourage further local tech investment, creating more skilled jobs for local people.

Cabinet member for Economy, Sustainability and Innovation, Cllr Shanika Mahendran, said: “Milton Keynes is leading the way on AI and is the home of innovation. We will continue supporting the businesses already working in this area, and also want encourage other tech businesses to speak to us to see if we can work together to help them bring their products to market by using MK as a testbed. Our message is clear: if your smart city tech will benefit residents, we want to hear from you.”