' TWO WEEKS @ TWO HOURS ' : BRITISH ECONOMY'S A.I. PRECIS

LONDON : FROM ' two weeks to two hours ' : how AI might reboot British Economy.

WHEN accountants at mid-tier firm Moore Kingston Smith began using artificial intelligence to speed up their work, profit margins jumped.

Colleagues in another team running checks against corporate fraud created a report for customers in two hours, something that previously took two weeks.

The rollout of AI is raising hopes that Britain's economy can escape the productivity problem that has dogged it for two decades, even as slow growth pushed finance minister Rachel Reeves toward tax hikes in last Wednesday's budget.

Economists say the dominance of services businesses in Britain's private sector compared to other countries could mean higher rewards if it rapidly adopts AI in powerhouse sectors such as accountancy and finance.

Ratings agency Moody's  said on Friday the UK could gain more than other countries from the advances in the technology.

Becky Shields, MKS head of digital transformation, said AI was freeing staff from repetitive work and giving them more time to work with clients.

'' The large language models that underpin all of this technology are evolving all the time.  They're getting better and better with every iteration,'' she said.

The World Students Society thanks AFP.