The UK risks a “long, slow death” of its economic engines if businesses continue to trail international rivals in adopting artificial intelligence, according to Matt Clifford, the prime minister’s former AI adviser. “We kid ourselves that, because we have some good tech firms, Britain is good at tech,” he said. A spokesman for the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology said the government is working with industry to train a fifth of the UK workforce in AI by 2030. It is also appointing “AI sector champions” and implementing an action plan to break down barriers to adoption. Eight in ten warned the UK would be unable to compete globally without reliable, high-capacity power for data centres.