The UK government risks being boxed in by AI backlash if they don’t share the benefits of the technology with the public, according to new analysis from the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR).

The think tank warned that current policy is too narrowly focused on accelerating AI growth and boosting the UK economy, while failing to articulate how exactly AI can improve most people’s lives.

This lack of communication is harder to ignore as public concerns around AI rise, with the technology now widely viewed as a risk to job disruption and deepening inequality, anxieties which have sparked an “anti-AI coalition”, with protests erupting over issues like copyright disputes and children’s safety.

IPPR said that rapid technical advances mean AI’s economic and social impacts are no longer theoretical, and with significant labour market disruption expected in the next twelve months, the political stakes are rising fast.

Without decisive intervention, the report argues, the feverish pursuit of AI threatens to concentrate economic power in a handful of tech firms, making it harder for governments to manage the extreme risks of increasingly capable models.

Rather than choosing between uncritical AI acceleration and outright resistance, IPPR is instead calling for a new approach, dubbed “AI directionism”, where government actively steers the development and deployment of AI towards clear public benefits.

This would see the government take a far more active role in shaping markets, directing investment, and setting clear priorities for how AI should be used in areas such as healthcare, education and public services.

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Among the report’s key recommendations are that the UK Government redistribute windfall gains from Sovereign AI investments back to the public, and that tax and subsidies be reformed to reward firms for raising productivity via workers rather than automation. 

The think tank also urged ministers to strengthen competition enforcement to prevent an excessive concentration of power among tech firms, mirroring moves by regulators within the ad tech and cloud markets. 

“People are increasingly worried about AI, and for good reason,” said Roa Powell, senior research fellow at IPPR.

“If governments can’t show what AI is for and how it will improve lives, that concern could quickly turn into outright opposition. The task now is to make AI work for the public, not just for a handful of companies.”