In 2002 Barnsley underwent a redesign as a Tuscan hill village as it looked to a brighter post-industrial future. In 2021 it adopted the airily vague slogan “A Place of Possibilities”. Now it is trying to build a different image: Britain’s first “tech city”.
Liz Kendall, the Technology Secretary, has appointed the South Yorkshire community as a trailblazer for “how AI can improve everyday life” in the UK.
In Labour’s latest move to inject AI into the UK bloodstream, the government has announced that three US tech companies – Microsoft, Google, Cisco and Adobe – have agreed to help as the council pushes to implement AI in local schools, hospitals, GPs and businesses in the Barnsley area of South Yorkshire, which has been struggling with unemployment and deprivation since the closure of coal mines.
Sir Stephen Houghton, the Labor leader of Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council, said the city and its 250,000 people were chosen because they have already adopted AI faster than many places. His authority has been using AI assistants in adult social care and children’s services for the past few years, and its bin lorries have been enabled with the technology to scan potholes on the roads. Parcel company Avery, which has the largest delivery center in the city, is testing robot dogs for deliveries.
But local opposition leaders have warned that rebranding Barnsley as a tech city “may be a bit of a leap” and highlighted local concerns about whether AI is a force for good.
The “Tech Town” status means residents will receive free AI and digital training, businesses will be supported to adopt AI, hospitals will trial AI tools for check-in, triage and outpatient care and AI will be trialled in schools and Barnsley College, all in an effort to improve pupil outcomes and teacher workloads.
“Barnsley’s economic base was destroyed 30 years ago,” Houghton said. “This is the biggest opportunity we have had since then. The future of the economy is going to be in technology and for Barnsley to be at the center of that is an incredible opportunity.”
But one area of uncertainty is the role of tech companies. Houghton said: “The council won’t be paying them. Whether the government will, we’ll have to wait and see.”
Microsoft already has a relationship with Barnsley College and is understood to be working with Google and Cisco on a pro bono basis.
“If we want to make AI work for Britain, we need Britain and British public services that can work with AI,” Kendall said. “If we can show that AI helps young people learn, helps local businesses be more productive, and improves public services, then we can show what is possible for the whole country. What we learn here will shape how we implement AI in the UK.”
Ministers have faced criticism over their handling of big technology companies. Last week the government launched a national AI training program to skill 10 million citizens, but many online courses remained useless. to bet in advance Training for clients of specialized companies like Google, Other It cost up to £525 to complete and some promoted the merits of a particular company’s approach to AI such as explaining Microsoft’s “responsible AI approach”.
A spokesperson for the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology said hundreds of courses on the AI Skills Hub are free and those where payment is required are clearly advertised. “All courses are reviewed based on a common set of criteria to ensure they are relevant, of high quality and delivered by qualified organisations,” he said.
Ministers have also been challenged to hold meetings with technology bosses more than once each working day. The government emphasizes that engagement is key to driving growth and transformation in services.
“This is not about giving tech companies access to data they shouldn’t have,” Houghton said. “It’s a safe program and we’re not leaving ourselves open. But these things are not going away. We have to make sure we’re smart enough to protect people while still taking advantage of the positive things it brings.”
Hannah Kitching, the council’s Liberal Democrat opposition leader, said the investment in the city was welcome but “there is a lot of concern among people about the use of AI and whether it is a force for good. We know it can be but there are some dark sides to it too.”
“(Barnsley) is still really connected to its mining past,” she said. “Young people see jobs and opportunities around the idea of a tech city, but the older generation probably doesn’t. There’s work to be done to get people involved.”
“Residents want the council to fix the basic amenities,” he said. The roads were “completely broken” and bins were not collected in bad weather, he said.
