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Diane Coyle

Publications and source records attributed to Diane Coyle.

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Code, Capital, and Clusters: Understanding Firm Performance in the UK AI Economy

The UK has established a distinctive position in the global AI landscape, driven by rapid firm formation and strategic investment. However, the interplay between AI specialisation, local socioeconomic conditions, and firm performance remains underexplored. This study analyses a comprehensive dataset of UK AI entities (2000 - 2024) from Companies House, ONS, and glass.ai. We find a strong geographical concentration in London (41.3 percent of entities) and technology-centric sectors, with general financial services reporting the highest mean operating revenue (33.9 million GBP, n=33). Firm size and AI specialisation intensity are primary revenue drivers, while local factors, Level 3 qualification rates, population density, and employment levels, provide significant marginal contributions, highlighting the dependence of AI growth on regional socioeconomic ecosystems. The forecasting models project sectoral expansion to 2030, estimating 4,651 [4,323 - 4,979, 95 percent CI] total entities and a rising dissolution ratio (2.21 percent [-0.17 - 4.60]), indicating a transition toward slower sector expansion and consolidation. These results provide robust evidence for place-sensitive policy interventions: cultivating regional AI capabilities beyond London to mitigate systemic risks; distinguishing between support for scaling (addressing capital gaps) and deepening technical specialisation; and strategically shaping ecosystem consolidation. Targeted actions are essential to foster both aggregate AI growth and balanced regional development, transforming consolidation into sustained competitive advantage.

cs.CY

Identifying, Evaluating, and Mitigating Risks of AI Thought Partnerships

Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems have historically been used as tools that execute narrowly defined tasks. Yet recent advances in AI have unlocked possibilities for a new class of models that genuinely collaborate with humans in complex reasoning, from conceptualizing problems to brainstorming solutions. Such AI thought partners enable novel forms of collaboration and extended cognition, yet they also pose major risks-including and beyond risks of typical AI tools and agents. In this commentary, we systematically identify risks of AI thought partners through a novel framework that identifies risks at multiple levels of analysis, including Real-time, Individual, and Societal risks arising from collaborative cognition (RISc). We leverage this framework to propose concrete metrics for risk evaluation, and finally suggest specific mitigation strategies for developers and policymakers. As AI thought partners continue to proliferate, these strategies can help prevent major harms and ensure that humans actively benefit from productive thought partnerships.

cs.AI

Using ChatGPT for Thematic Analysis

The utilisation of AI-driven tools, notably ChatGPT, within academic research is increasingly debated from several perspectives including ease of implementation, and potential enhancements in research efficiency, as against ethical concerns and risks such as biases and unexplained AI operations. This paper explores the use of the GPT model for initial coding in qualitative thematic analysis using a sample of UN policy documents. The primary aim of this study is to contribute to the methodological discussion regarding the integration of AI tools, offering a practical guide to validation for using GPT as a collaborative research assistant. The paper outlines the advantages and limitations of this methodology and suggests strategies to mitigate risks. Emphasising the importance of transparency and reliability in employing GPT within research methodologies, this paper argues for a balanced use of AI in supported thematic analysis, highlighting its potential to elevate research efficacy and outcomes.

cs.HC

Computing Power and the Governance of Artificial Intelligence

Computing power, or "compute," is crucial for the development and deployment of artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities. As a result, governments and companies have started to leverage compute as a means to govern AI. For example, governments are investing in domestic compute capacity, controlling the flow of compute to competing countries, and subsidizing compute access to certain sectors. However, these efforts only scratch the surface of how compute can be used to govern AI development and deployment. Relative to other key inputs to AI (data and algorithms), AI-relevant compute is a particularly effective point of intervention: it is detectable, excludable, and quantifiable, and is produced via an extremely concentrated supply chain. These characteristics, alongside the singular importance of compute for cutting-edge AI models, suggest that governing compute can contribute to achieving common policy objectives, such as ensuring the safety and beneficial use of AI. More precisely, policymakers could use compute to facilitate regulatory visibility of AI, allocate resources to promote beneficial outcomes, and enforce restrictions against irresponsible or malicious AI development and usage. However, while compute-based policies and technologies have the potential to assist in these areas, there is significant variation in their readiness for implementation. Some ideas are currently being piloted, while others are hindered by the need for fundamental research. Furthermore, naive or poorly scoped approaches to compute governance carry significant risks in areas like privacy, economic impacts, and centralization of power. We end by suggesting guardrails to minimize these risks from compute governance.

cs.CY