Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:53 pm on 17 October 2018.
Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I'd like to thank the Cabinet Secretary for his response. The committee did intend this report, really, not just to make recommendations to Government but it intended it to be a report and inquiry that raised awareness of some of the key ideas and concepts. We also wanted to challenge not just Government but business as well, and the third sector, because all of us, I think, need to think about the profound changes that are arriving at a great frequency.
Now, as I said at the beginning of this debate today, the stakes could not be higher. The evidence we gathered could not be clearer. We had clear evidence in our committee sessions; experts warned that thousands of jobs are likely to be in the balance in the very near future. Automation is a wind that could rip through the entire economy and leave devastation in its wake if we don't properly prepare. But, if we are prepared, there are, of course, enormous opportunities too, and that's what fellow committee members and Jack Sargeant picked up on in the course of our debate today.
Adam Price expanded on test beds and the need to build a showcase for Wales's ability, and the potential of AI—of an AI college, rather, which he outlined the case for. Hefin, of course, commented on driverless vehicles, and I know as a committee that we intend to do some more work in that area. And David Rowlands focused his contribution on Government needing to identify the needs, and business needing to identify the needs, in terms of creating the right workforce for the future. The fourth industrial revolution is happening despite Government, not because of it, was what Lee Waters said. Lee Waters, of course, talked at length in regard to precision agriculture. This is something I didn't have particularly strong views on previously. [Interruption.] Is it your quote, Lee, or is it somebody else's? [Interruption.] I'll give it to you. I think precision agriculture is something I didn't have great views on before doing this piece of work, but I can certainly say now that I share the views that I know Lee has held for some time. I'm grateful to Jack Sargeant for his contribution, giving his perspective as an engineer, and an example he gave in terms of how AI can improve our healthcare as well.
I would like to thank a few people. We had a great range of experts during the course of our inquiry and most of them, if not the majority, were Wales based. We had evidence in regard to automated vehicles, precision agriculture—all good evidence. We also visited Amazon during the course of our inquiry and, across the road, Swansea University—visited their engineering department. As Vikki Howells pointed out, that engineering department is expanding. I think Vikki was probably as fascinated as I was at the robot we witnessed that was going to be looking after us, apparently, in our old age. Thanks also to the committee team that support us and the integrated team.
I think that this debate, although I'm closing it now, is very much the start of a much longer debate that I think needs to take place.