University of Liverpool researchers brought the University’s expertise in artificial intelligence to a series of discussions at this year’s Labour Party Conference, exploring how AI can support better health, stronger communities, inclusive economic growth and greater opportunity.
The activity reflected the breadth of the University’s AI for Life Research Frontier, which brings together expertise spanning computer science, engineering, health, social sciences and the humanities to address major societal challenges through AI.
University representatives contributed to discussions covering the use of AI in health and public services, the skills and infrastructure needed to support AI-led economic growth, and the importance of tackling digital exclusion so that the benefits of technological change are shared widely.
Using AI to support health, work and opportunity
The University of Liverpool’s Civic Health Innovation Labs (CHIL) brought together senior leaders from health, government, academia, industry and community to explore how on how devolution, prevention, better use of data and responsible AI can help address some of the country’s most persistent and complex challenges.
Hosted by University of Liverpool Deputy Vice Chancellor Professor Richard Black and chaired by Professor Iain Buchan, Director of CHIL, and with opening contributions from former Health Secretary Alan Milburn.
The event focused on how civic partnerships can use data and AI to tackle the interconnected challenges of poor health, economic inactivity, educational disengagement, particularly in disadvantaged communities.
Discussion centred on three themes:
- Prevention and early intervention
- AI, data and public service reform
- Health, work and place-based growth
The meeting also marked the launch of the Keep Britain Working Prospectus, which sets out a practical vision for how trusted data, responsible AI and civic partnerships can help people stay healthy, remain connected to work and access support earlier when challenges emerge.
The roundtable generated a strong consensus that health, work and opportunity cannot be addressed in isolation. Participants highlighted the need for stronger collaboration between health, employment, education, local government and industry, and emphasised the critical role that place-based partnerships can play in translating innovation into real-world impact.
Photography by Gareth Jones
Seizing the North’s AI opportunity
The role of AI in supporting regional economic growth was explored with contributions from Professor Alex Singleton, Department of Geography and Planning.
Bringing together representatives from industry, local government and academia, the discussion drew on the real-world experience of Kyndryl’s AI Innovation Lab to explore how the North of England can capitalise on the opportunities created by AI, while ensuring that investment and innovation deliver benefits for communities across the region.
Discussion focused on the North’s competitive strengths in AI, the investment, digital infrastructure and cyber resilience needed to support growth, and how stronger public-private partnerships could accelerate adoption.
Skills and devolution were also key themes, including how Northern cities can develop and retain AI, technology and cyber talent, and shape place-based strategies that bring together infrastructure, investment, skills and public-sector innovation so communities across the region can benefit from AI-led growth.
The themes reflect the AI for Life Frontier’s focus on both technological innovation and its practical application to economic and societal challenges, including place, innovation and future economies.
Adult Skills, AI and Digital Inclusion
Professor Simeon Yates, Director of the Digital Media and Society Institute, joined speakers from trade union, community and industry backgrounds to explore the impact of AI on jobs and the importance of addressing existing gaps in digital, literacy and numeracy skills.
The discussion drew on findings from the Digital Nation 2026 report, which shows that just one in three UK adults are comfortably online. Around 34 million are online but face barriers or vulnerabilities, while 2.2 million adults remain offline entirely in a system that increasingly presumes digital access and skills. The research also found that 72% of adults lack confidence using AI in their daily lives.
Speakers highlighted the need for adults to have continued access to learning and training as technology changes, including through workplace-based support. Essential digital and numeracy skills increasingly affect people across all parts of the workforce, while young people also need the confidence and competence to enter an increasingly digital employment market.
Community perspectives highlighted fundamental barriers including access to devices, the cost of mobile data and limited confidence using digital tools. Speakers stressed that conversations about advanced AI skills cannot be separated from these wider inequalities in digital access.
Digital exclusion can affect people’s ability to access healthcare, education and financial services, as well as their wider participation in society. The growing use of generative AI also makes digital and media literacy increasingly important, particularly as people encounter misinformation or inaccurate AI-generated health and financial information.
Connecting innovation, place and people
Together, the discussions highlighted the interconnected challenges involved in ensuring that AI delivers meaningful benefits for society.
Improved use of data and AI could support earlier intervention in health and public services, while investment in digital infrastructure and skills could drive regional productivity and economic growth. However, technological advances risk reinforcing existing inequalities if people lack the devices, connectivity or skills needed to participate.
These challenges are reflected in the interdisciplinary approach of the University’s AI for Life Research Frontier, which combines expertise from across the University to develop AI technologies and apply them to real-world societal challenges.
Through its contributions around the Labour Party Conference, the University demonstrated how its research is engaging with questions that extend beyond the development of AI itself: how it can be used responsibly to improve lives and public services, how places can benefit from AI-led innovation, and how people and communities can be equipped to participate in that transformation.