Former Prime Minister Tony Blair has warned that Britain must fully embrace artificial intelligence in public services—including AI doctors, nurses, and teachers—or risk being left behind in what he described as the greatest transformation since the 19th-century Industrial Revolution.
Speaking at the SXSW London festival, Blair said the potential of AI to revolutionise government and public services far outweighs the associated risks, which he insisted can be managed. “We’re in the foothills of the most transformative revolution since the Industrial Revolution,” he said, adding that the technology could make government “much smaller, more efficient, cost less and give a better service to the customer.”
Blair envisioned a future where AI handles routine governmental tasks, merges public datasets to enable smarter policy decisions, and supports personalised education through AI tutors. In healthcare, he championed the integration of AI into diagnostics, treatment planning, and even clinical roles. “You should have AI nurses, AI doctors,” he said, citing the advances already being made in medical imaging.
Calling it “absurd” that NHS data had not yet been fully utilised for innovation, Blair stressed that AI was neither inherently good nor bad, but a powerful tool requiring responsible use. He argued that the UK government must reorganise itself around the opportunities of AI, and warned against the current culture of resistance within the civil service. “It’s a conspiracy for inertia,” he said. “It has got a genius for absorbing the impetus for change and suffocating it.”
Blair’s comments were echoed by Technology Secretary Peter Kyle, who joined him on stage and argued that the UK risked becoming “obsolete” if it failed to act boldly. Kyle advocated for using the UK’s uniquely rich public datasets to fuel AI-driven innovation in science, medicine, and social understanding. He acknowledged the need for public buy-in, saying, “I don’t think that we will have the permission from people to do that, unless people feel connected to that journey themselves.”
Blair and Kyle spoke shortly after a UK government trial found that generative AI could save civil servants an average of 26 minutes a day, potentially freeing up the equivalent of 30,000 officials from repetitive administrative work. Despite lingering concerns over data privacy and job displacement, both leaders made it clear: the cost of hesitation is far greater than the risk of change.
