Policy area: Technology

Reports

AI in local government: Adoption, benefits and challenges

This report from UK think tank City-REDI examines how artificial intelligence is being adopted in local government. This report from the Local Policy Innovation Partnership provides a timely stocktake of how artificial intelligence is being adopted in local government, what benefits are beginning to emerge, and what barriers still limit wider deployment. It draws on...

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Stuck on you: How to make social media good again

This report from UK think tank IPPR explores how to make social media good again. How social media has changed over the last 20 years to make us more isolated from each other online, and what needs to change. Social media inarguably poses threats to democracy: disinformation and misinformation, polarisation, echo chambers, bots and rage-inducing...

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Public cyber attribution in the Global South: Indo-Pacific

This report from UK think tank RUSI underscores the importance of understanding the Global South’s perspectives on cyber attribution to help navigate the complexities of a multipolar world. Global South approaches to public cyber attribution are more cautious than Western approaches, due to factors including cultural background, foreign policy goals and perceptions of western double...

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Adopt, innovate, transform

This report from UK think tank the Fabian Society explores how civil servants can help deliver a smarter state with AI. As artificial intelligence plays an increasingly prominent role in our lives, the government is rightly using its potential to rewire the state. The long-term efficacy and sustainability of our public services will rely on...

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Smart city surveillance in Africa: Mapping Chinese AI surveillance across 11 countries

This report from UK think tank the Institute of Development Studies warns that surveillance is violating citizens' freedoms and their human right to privacy. This report provides the most comprehensive account to date of smart city surveillance in Africa. Expert researchers draw on their contextual experience of their own countries in detailed reports on Algeria,...

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Deputising UK counter-cybercrime operations

This report from UK think tank RUSI explores the potential of deputising private firms for cybercrime disruption in the UK. This paper, 'Exploring Cyber Deputisation: Enhancing UK Cyber Statecraft Against Organised Cybercrime', examines the potential of deputising private sector entities to conduct disruptive cyber operations against serious and organised cybercrime targeting the UK. Amid escalating...

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The digital-democractic doom loop: Social media and the breaking of the state-citizen relationship

This report from UK think tank Demos argues that the doom loop is exacerbated by the concentration of wealth, ownership and power in the private sector. In this paper author and journalist Phil Tinline argues that modern democracies are caught in a “digital-democratic doom loop” in which declining trust in the state, economic stagnation, and...

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Beyond the border: Upstreaming responses to serious organised crime threats

This report from UK think tank the Coalition for Global Prosperity examines the threats facing Britain from serious and organised crime and how we can tackle it. A timely new report from the Coalition for Global Prosperity, authored by Senior Researcher Zoe Swanwick and introduced by Richard Baker, Member of Parliament for Glenrothes and Mid...

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A declaration on digital rights: Embedding human rights in a new deal for the digital age

This report from UK think tank Demos calls for a declaration on digital rights to protect citizens in the AI age. In this report, we make the case that a demonstrated commitment from the government to preserving human rights in the face of rapid technological change will be critical for protecting citizens in the digital...

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Rebooting the UK’s cyber strategy

This report from UK think tank RUSI outlines six key priorities for the upcoming National Cyber Action Plan. This paper highlights the urgent need to revamp the UK's cyber strategy to address systemic vulnerabilities that threaten national security and economic growth. With cyber attacks costing UK businesses billions annually and high-profile incidents such as the...

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AI’s got news for you: Can AI improve our information environment?

This report from UK think tank IPPR discusses whether AI can improve our information environment. Artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming our information environment and becoming a new front door through which the public access the news. Already, 24 per cent of people report using AI for information seeking every week. But there is widespread concern...

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Exploring multi-academy trust approaches to artificial intelligence

This report from UK think tank the Education Policy Institute examines how MATs are navigating the adoption and development of new technologies. Artificial intelligence is already embedded across many of the tools used by educators and pupils, supporting lesson planning, resource creation, and the tailoring of learning materials to individual needs. It is also increasingly...

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Smart enough?

This report from UK think tank the Social Market Foundation examines how low income households can benefit from smart data initiatives. Smart data has the potential to help people to access the best products and services – saving them money while facilitating product innovation. Despite this, and cross-party backing, challenges remain around whether the market...

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Breaking the echo chamber: Enhancing disinformation resilience in the UK

This report from UK think tank the Henry Jackson Society examines how disinformation affects university students in the UK. This report examines how disinformation affects university students in the United Kingdom. Drawing on three distinct case studies – vaccination, the Southport stabbings, and Candace Owens’ claim that Brigitte Macron is a man – we assess...

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European cloud adoption for national security

This report from UK think tank RUSI explores the role of cloud computing in enhancing European national security and defence capabilities. Cloud computing has become a fundamental capability for European national security and defence. Governments increasingly depend on cloud services to strengthen national resilience, modernise legacy systems and provide advanced technological capabilities such as AI....

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Related Events

20 April 2026

Location: Online / Chatham House, 10 St James's Square, London SW1Y 4LE

Think tank: Chatham House

AI and national security: Who’s really in control?

This event hosted by UK think tank Chatham House discusses who controls AI and on whose terms. When the US government designated Anthropic a national security threat earlier this year — a label previously reserved for foreign adversaries — it exposed a fault line that had been building for years: who controls AI, and on...

28 April 2026

Location: Central Westminster

Think tank: Onward

Mind the algorithm: Shaping the future of digital market regulation

This event hosted by UK think tank Onward discusses shaping the future of digital market regulation. As technology becomes an increasingly important part of economies globally, the UK is at a pivotal moment in shaping the rules that will govern its economy for decades to come. As regulatory frameworks are tested and evolve to keep...