Topic
AI and compute
How AI is built, hosted and governed in Wales, from data centres and AI Growth Zones to the rules for using it safely.
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Explainer
China tells officials to plan for AI job losses. What could Wales learn?
China's cabinet has told ministries and provinces to assess, monitor and plan for job losses caused by AI. The UK has set up a body to track AI's effect on jobs, and Wales's economy minister says the country needs better data. We set out what each is doing.
Analysis
Five times as productive as a human? Musk’s robot claim, and what it could mean for Welsh jobs
Tesla's chief executive says a humanoid robot working round the clock should be at least five times as productive as a person, and Tesla aims to start supplying its Optimus robot to other companies around the end of 2027. So far, humanoids are in small factory and warehouse pilots. We look at the evidence, and at the 287,000 workforce jobs in Welsh manufacturing, construction, transport and storage, water and waste, and mining and quarrying: a measure of exposure, not of jobs at risk.
Analysis
Wales finished more homes in the year to March 2026. Could AI help planning keep up?
Recorded home completions in Wales rose 11% in the year to March 2026, though the latest quarter was weaker. England has rolled out one AI planning tool and is trialling another. We look at where Wales stands, and why its planning data may matter more than any software.
Analysis
What Welsh small firms can get to start using AI
Wales advertises a 75% contribution towards eligible AI training, alongside free practical help. The opportunity is worth examining, but approval, payment terms and the right course matter.
Analysis
How Welsh public services are starting to use AI
NHS staff and careers services in Wales are using AI, but adoption, safety and better outcomes need different kinds of evidence.
Analysis
Will AI coding destroy the software industry in Wales and the UK?
AI coding tools can now write custom software in hours rather than months, putting pressure on firms that sell off-the-shelf products. A planned UK consultation on who pays for cyber breaches could add to the strain. Whether software vendors adapt, comply or pull back is still an open question, and Welsh public services and thousands of Welsh jobs have a stake in the answer.
Analysis
Why waiting for self-driving cars costs lives
The best evidence so far says self-driving cars crash far less often than human drivers. If self-driving cars took on just a quarter of Britain's driving, we estimate about 200 lives a year could be saved, about 12 of them in Wales. We argue that every year of avoidable regulatory delay carries a human cost.
Analysis
Why Wales needs its own data centres, and where the Cardiff East project critics are right
On the UK Government's latest estimate, for autumn 2024, Wales had more colocation data centre capacity than anywhere in Britain outside London, with billions more in the pipeline. We make the unapologetic economic case for building the physical foundations of AI in Wales, strip away the weak arguments about why local hosting matters, and test the fierce criticism of the Cardiff East plan against the evidence.
Analysis
Wales’s two AI Growth Zones: every commitment, tracked
Wales has two of the UK's five AI Growth Zones. We set out what was announced on jobs, money and power, what has happened since, and how we will track it.
Opinion
Has The Chancellor sucked the life out of AI in Wales?
Wales's two AI Growth Zones are still designated, but the Budget does not mention them. The cheaper power offered to AI zones was designed for Scotland and northern England. Welsh capital budgets are falling.