Policymakers who think AI can help rescue flagging UK economy should take heed | Heather Stewart

Healthy scepticism is needed because flaw is that large language models remain prone to casually making things up

From helping consultants diagnose cancer, to aiding teachers in drawing up lesson plans - and flooding social media with derivative slop - generative artificial intelligence is being adopted across the economy at breakneck speed.

Yet a growing number of voices are starting to ask how much of an asset the technology can be to the UK's sluggish economy. Not least because there is no escaping a persistent flaw: large language models (LLMs) remain prone to casually making things up.