Birmingham study probes AI productivity gains in defence

The City-Region Economic Development Institute at the University of Birmingham is leading a research project on how AI could improve productivity across the defence sector. The work will focus on how AI adoption in the UK defence industry is affected by fine-tune training of models and the sharing of data between firms.

Defence presents a difficult setting for AI deployment because national security restrictions make data access and collaboration more complex than in many other sectors. The project will examine whether limited access to proprietary and security-sensitive data is slowing the use of AI tools that require large volumes of specific information to perform specialised tasks.

Researchers will speak with experts in defence production, manufacturing, AI development and data securitisation to assess current adoption and identify ways firms and government could collaborate safely. The findings are intended to inform investment decisions, support productivity gains, and strengthen both local economies and national security. The project is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council through The Productivity Institute.