Prime Minister Keir Starmer struck a bold tone at London Tech Week by pitching Britain as an AI powerhouse. It鈥檚 ambitious 鈥 but with the UK鈥檚 strong heritage in tech, world-class universities and research, and a fast-growing tech sector 鈥 the goals can be attainable. Scotland has the potential to contribute significantly to the UK’s advancements in AI and we鈥檙e already seeing shoots of progress. Accenture鈥檚 latest UK Tech Talent Tracker research shows tech job vacancies have grown by 21 per cent from last year, with the UK expanding its tech talent pool to its highest level since 2019 鈥 mostly driven by an appetite for AI. There is a significant increase in demand for AI skills in Glasgow and Edinburgh, with growth levels surpassing those in established centres like Oxford and Cambridge. Yet despite this momentum, familiar patterns are forming: capital investment, access to tools, and upskilling are still unbalanced across the UK. The same research shows that London accounts for 80 per cent of all AI job postings. While demand for AI talent in Glasgow has grown by 150 per cent, and Edinburgh is not far behind, the scale of opportunity remains disproportionately concentrated in London. We are also seeing a regional divide emerge in people鈥檚 access to technology and training opportunities. Less than half of workers (44 per cent) in Scotland have access to gen AI tools at work, compared to 64 per cent of workers in London. And just 36 per cent of Scottish businesses are increasing digital training, compared to 64 per cent of London firms. While AI is developing at pace, some firms are still at the experimentation phase. While London-based firms plan to allocate almost a fifth of their technology budgets to AI this year. In Scotland, the figure is 13 per cent. That gap matters. So too does the disparity in training. Around four in ten organisations outside London have increased training in gen AI so people can learn the fundamentals. In Scotland, the gap is wider still. This is not just an economic question. It is about resilience, opportunities, and long-term competitiveness. To fully capitalise on the economic potential of AI, regions outside of London will also need to compete for talent and infrastructure to achieve sustainable growth and unlock opportunities. The good news is that business leaders in Scotland are alert to the challenge. Leaders believe that over half of their workforce needs to be upskilled, and many are optimistic that AI can have a positive impact. Closing the skills gap is paramount. At Accenture, we are addressing digital inclusion head-on with our Regenerative AI initiative, aiming to equip over a million people with AI skills. AI has the potential to double the UK鈥檚 long-term growth rate, adding up to 拢736 billion to annual GDP by 2038. If the UK wants to achieve this, organisations and start-ups in Scotland must be part of the engine 鈥 and not waiting in the wings. That means backing talent, innovation, and closing the skills gap. Helen Lindsay, managing director for Talent & Organisation at Accenture in Scotland