Every so often, an opportunity arises that is simply too significant to ignore, one with the power to shape the future of every business and organisation in the country. Contributing to the AIME consultation was one of those rare moments. Whether a small local enterprise or a large corporate spanning the globe, every one will soon encounter AIME (or a version of it). Why? Because AI is dawning on our economy like the spring sun after a long winter. The impact will be profound and the time to engage is now.

Pete Kenyon and I were thrilled to lead this enjoyable and engaging exercise. The consultation response – all 12,000 words of it – is the epic work of many erudite minds. It expresses to the UK government the views of SMEs, charities, local businesses, higher education institutes and global PLCs. All of them have a view on how best to create a governance framework for the challenge posed by integrating and delivering AI in their organisations.

For those readers who don’t have time to read it all, you can get the gist of our work by just reading the summary section.

The brilliant Craig Mundie, formerly of Microsoft, said in a talk in London last month (January 2025) that “the thing about AI is that it changes everything about everything.” We think he is right. As AI begins to become common place amongst businesses and organisations of all kinds, previous norms will be increasingly challenged. We will need a way to help navigate the UK economy through this at a grass roots level. AIME is an excellent first step to achieving this. We commend DSIT for its efforts.

Finally, I would like to thank each and every contributor. What a fantastic and inspiring group you are! When we embarked on this exercise we described it as being a bit like an iceberg and many of you have said now how you can see why. Those reading this consultation response will not see the many hours of calls, research, study, debate and – at times – disagreement, that gave birth to this consultation response. We want to publicly acknowledge all of your personal sacrifice. You did it all with commitment, camaraderie and good character. Cripps may have been the facilitator, but you are the engine of ideas and creative output that have helped make this possible. I hope you are proud of your contributions. We are extremely proud of you.

Always yours

Pete Kenyon and Matthew Holman