HL 111 - Make Or Break: The UK's Digital Future

Book excerpt: This report is a call to action for the incoming Government in May 2015. The world is being transformed by a series of profound technological changes dominated by digital - a 'second machine age'. This is already having a significant impact on the UK; over the next two decades some economists have estimated that 35% of current jobs in the UK could become automated. Digital technology is changing all our lives, work, society and politics. It brings with it huge opportunities for the UK, but also significant risks. This demands an ambitious approach which will secure the UK's position as a digital leader. The Committee recommends that the new Government establishes a single and cohesive Digital Agenda. The potential value in doing so is significant; the Government estimated that the digital sector alone was worth an estimated £105 billion in gross value added to the UK in 2011. A report by the National Institute of Economic and Social Research in 2013, meanwhile, found that the size of the digital economy was almost double official estimates. Whatever the difficulties in quantifying the value, it is clear that digital is already a substantial driver for growth and will become much more so. Digital technology is transforming much more than just one sector of the economy - the whole economy has become digitised. It would therefore be a mistake to take the 'digital sector' as our sole focus of interest. Digital technology is pervasive across all aspects of life, so much so that the 'digital economy' is becoming synonymous with the national economy. The UK cannot afford to miss the opportunity or shirk the challenges this presents.