THE Welsh government’s Office for Artificial Intelligence has begun taking shape, as Economy, Energy and Planning Secretary Rebecca Evans announced a new funding package this week.

Plans to create the office were announced in June, along with the creation of a strategic AI advisory group to look at how the technology can be harnessed to support public services.

As that group prepares for its second meeting later this month, Ms Evans has released new cash for projects ranging from training of local authority workers to testing and evaluation of new AI tools such as those used for social care assessments.

The Cabinet Secretary said: “I have allocated funding to a series of exciting initiatives which are supporting the responsible implementation of AI across Welsh public services.

“The funding will accelerate delivery of the projects and establish a robust foundation for future AI activity. 

“The overarching objective is to clearly demonstrate the practical benefits that AI can offer in enhancing the delivery of public services across Wales. 

“Each project will produce a lessons-learned report and share best practice with others across the Welsh public sector.”