AI Cymru: Shaping a Smarter, Fairer, More Prosperous Wales

I’m proud to introduce the AI Plan for Wales – a bold and forward-looking Plan that sets out how we will harness the transformative power of artificial intelligence to drive economic growth, enhance public services in both Welsh and English, and equip people across Wales with the skills to thrive in an AI-shaped future.

We live in a time of rapid technological change. AI is no longer a distant concept. It is already reshaping our world - how we live, work, and learn - and its influence will only grow. This presents us with extraordinary opportunities - but also challenges we must navigate with care. The AI Plan for Wales is our roadmap to doing just that here in Wales. It sets out how we will reimagine how we work, how we serve our communities, and how we grow our economy. It provides the framework for how we will work together across Wales to develop our capability and coordinate our activities and investments to collectively achieve our vision.

By embracing AI, we can transform public services, support our private sectors to adapt and thrive, boost productivity, and create high-quality jobs that will stand the test of time - responsibly, ethically, and ambitiously.

AI can make it easier for more people to use Cymraeg in everyday life. This supports our ambition to increase the daily use of Welsh. This is one of the 2 main targets of Cymraeg 2050: A million Welsh speakers, and one of our 3 priorities for Welsh language technology specifically.

To make this vision a reality, we’ve taken decisive steps:

• Established the Office for AI within Welsh Government to lead by example and build our internal capability.
• Formed the Strategic AI Advisory Group, bringing together experts from industry, academia, and the public sector to strengthen Wales’ AI ecosystem.
• Invested in innovative initiatives that empower public service bodies to adopt AI, transform services, and upskill their workforce.

We’ve worked with the Workforce Partnership Council to develop ethical guidance for AI use in public sector workplaces – a reflection of our unique Welsh approach to social partnership.

In education, I’ve welcomed the Estyn review of generative AI in schools which provided a series of recommendations to ensure AI supports teaching, learning, inclusion, and leadership. Additionally, our Digital Competence Framework is also being updated to reflect the impact of emerging technologies on young people.

Wales is uniquely positioned to lead in AI innovation. Our size and agility make us the perfect testbed for AI innovation - ideal for piloting and scaling new solutions. We’re home to major infrastructure investments, including Vantage Data Centres and Microsoft’s AI data centre in Newport. The AI Growth Zones will facilitate the accelerated build out of our AI data centres, and our close-knit tech community fosters collaboration across sectors.

Public services across Wales are already embracing AI – from faster diagnoses in the NHS to personalised learning in schools and automation in local government. This plan builds on that momentum, focusing on innovation, impact, and reach.

Our delivery will be guided by 4 strategic pillars:

• Economic Growth
• Educating Wales
• Equitable Delivery
• Excellence and Trust

And underpinned by our core principles: Ethical, Empathetic, Enterprising, and Effective. It is this framework which will ensure we deliver our vision in a way which balances prosperity with inclusion and reflects our Welsh values.

AI is a powerful catalyst for change - but it must be used responsibly. We are committed to ensuring AI is used in ways that are transparent, inclusive, and safe. Public trust is essential – and we will earn it through strong partnerships, human oversight, fair work, and a shared commitment to ethical innovation.

Together, we can shape a future where AI works for everyone in Wales.

To harness the power of AI responsibly to deliver economic growth, enhance public services in both English and Welsh, and equip people in Wales with the skills to thrive in a world shaped by intelligent technologies whilst ensuring equity for all.

AI is not new. The term ‘artificial intelligence’ was coined in 1956 during the Dartmouth workshop, a gathering of scientists intent on exploring the potential of computing to emulate human reasoning. Since then, there have been recurring waves of progress and excitement, followed by periods of waning interest and investment referred to as ‘AI winters’. We use the definition of AI adopted by Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries:

“An AI system is a machine-based system that, for explicit or implicit objectives, infers, from the input it receives, how to generate outputs such as predictions, content, recommendations, or decisions that can influence physical or virtual environments. Different AI systems vary in their levels of autonomy and adaptiveness after deployment.”

AI is rapidly reshaping the way we live, work, and learn. As the science of building intelligent systems capable of performing tasks traditionally carried out by people, AI presents a transformative opportunity for Wales. It is creating new opportunities for the way for government and businesses work together; it can help support the delivery of excellent public services; and it can enhance the wellbeing of our communities.

Our Digital Strategy for Wales sets out a vision of improving the lives of everyone through collaboration, innovation and better public services. This plan outlines how Wales is embracing the potential of AI to grow our economy, transform our public services and develop the AI skills we need. This is about AI in all its forms – perception, which is understanding or sensing what is happening; prediction, which is how information gets analysed to forecast what might happen; and, generative, which is about content creation using AI. The plan describes the building blocks needed to support others to explore the potential of AI in a responsible, ethical, and collaborative way that can provide benefits at scale.

Wales does not stand alone in this journey. The new capabilities AI brings is already reshaping global industries and labour markets. We are part of a global technological shift, likened even in narrative as a technology driven economic arms race and this plan is designed to align with developments across the UK and beyond, ensuring that we maximise the benefits of shared developments. It is crucial Wales understands and acts on the future opportunities, challenges and risks AI brings to enable both our economy and public services to adapt and thrive.

The promise of AI must be matched by a commitment to its responsible use. Equality, trust, and safety are not optional - they are foundational. That’s why our approach is rooted in our values of social partnership, collaborative decision-making, fairness, transparency, equality and equity.

As AI continues to evolve, Wales will remain agile, proactive, and principled, harnessing its power to deliver smarter services, drive inclusive growth, and empower people through education and opportunity. Above all, we will ensure that technological progress serves the public good and reflects the values of Welsh society.

Wales is the first country in the world to legislate for long-term wellbeing through the Well-being of Future Generations Act, and this makes our approach to AI unique. It means that every decision on AI adoption must consider not only immediate benefits, but also its impact on future generations, ensuring technological progress serves sustainability, equality, and the long-term prosperity of Wales, balancing improving social, economic, environmental and cultural well-being for people in Wales both now and in the future.

This AI plan sets the direction of travel for AI for the long term. Whilst some of the immediate actions within the plan are funded, achievement of the vision will require significant investment and prioritisation in order to maximise the long-term opportunities AI presents in strategy, policy and delivery.

The public sector, third sector, industry and academia will need to consider how the high-level actions within this plan will be delivered at the local, regional and sectoral level, with a clear focus on collaborative working both within and across sectors. These plans should clearly set out the timelines for implementation and how progress will be tracked and measured, as well as setting out how activities will be funded and how risks will be mitigated.

The pace of change means that this AI plan for Wales, and those implementation plans that will sit alongside it, will need to continually evolve to ensure it continues to be fit for purpose in this ever-changing world of AI.

This AI plan aligns with leading international approaches, whilst carving out a distinct role rooted in fairness, bilingualism, and public-service excellence. This includes:

• The UK ecosystem
  The UK AI Opportunities Action Plan sets out a roadmap for the UK government to capture the opportunities of AI to enhance growth and productivity and create tangible benefits for UK citizens. Wales is actively contributing to priorities identified within the AI Opportunities Action Plan most immediately through participation in the selection of AI Growth Zones and broader UK government work - national research, safety, and regulatory coordination - whilst tailoring adoption to Welsh priorities.
• Europe’s risk-based model
  The EU AI Act is the world’s first comprehensive AI law. The Act sets out a risk-based approach to the regulation of AI, with system categorised according to four tiers of risk – unacceptable risk, high risk, limited risk, and minimal risk – with ‘minimal risk’ AI systems being unregulated and AI systems categorised as ‘unacceptable risk’ being prohibited. Whilst the Act only impacts Welsh businesses whose AI products or services impact EU citizens, Wales will align with the Act where appropriate to ensure trust, cross-border interoperability, and access to EU markets.
• The UN Resolution on AI Governance
  Welsh Government acknowledges and supports this resolution, the aim of which is to exchange best practices and promote international cooperation.
• Learning from global leaders:
  • Singapore focuses on rollout at scale in its second National AI Strategy (NAIS 2.0)—centres of excellence, startup acceleration, and public-service productivity.
  • Canada prioritises research leadership and talent pipelines through its pan-Canadian strategy.
  • Finland demonstrates human-centric, life-event–based public services via its Aurora AI programme — an approach that resonates with Welsh social partnership values.
  • Norway’s data centre strategy focuses on creating a sustainable and efficient data centre (DC) industry that contributes to the country’s digital infrastructure and emphasises the importance of renewable and low carbon energy generation in symbiosis with DC growth.
  • OECD AI Principles are being adhered to by countries across the world. These principles promote innovative, trustworthy AI that respects human rights and democratic values.

• A values-led 4 Pillar framework - Economic Growth, Educating Wales, Equitable Delivery, Excellence & Trust - that balances prosperity with inclusion.
• A commitment to deliver bilingual services within the public sector and support cultural vitality - ensuring tools, datasets, and interfaces work for everyone in Wales.
• Social partnership and fair work as design principles for AI - in workplaces and public services.
• Practical adoption infrastructure - AI Growth Zones, Data Centres, Centres of Excellence, and Adoption Hubs to test, assure, and scale safe AI.
• Capacity to contribute meaningfully to the global market - underpinning technologies that facilitate AI delivery by exercising Wales’ position as home to the UK Compound semiconductor catapult and world leading manufacturers of hardware that datacentres and others depend upon.
• Strong partnerships - Wales benefits from a tight-knit tech community, enabling cross-sector collaboration between academia, industry, and government, with a significant number of start-ups and existing technology businesses. We also have our Third Sector Scheme which is a unique piece of legislation setting out the relationship between the Welsh Government and the Third Sector.
• Green Energy Commitment - Wales is leading in renewable energy and power electronics, ensuring sustainable AI infrastructure.
• Established Tech Base - Wales has over 3,600 tech companies employing 45,000+ people, with strengths in cybersecurity and fintech.

This positioning lets Wales act as a trusted testbed for responsible public-sector AI, a gateway for UK and EU interoperability, and a distinctive leader in bilingual, equitable digital innovation.

The potential opportunities to capture the benefits of AI-enabled change is vast. If responsible AI tools are developed and implemented successfully this could enhance our public services and economy as well as increase productivity.

Public Services

With the demand for public services rising in an environment of limited resources, investing in AI is a necessity. AI offers a way for the public sector to work smarter and manage demand better – enabling different decisions to be made around allocation of resources moving forward.

AI is already being used across public services to deliver smarter and more efficient public services benefiting the people in Wales.

Through the cross-sectoral AI Leadership Group for Wales – leadership and direction on the potential of AI to improve public services continues to be explored across all parts of the public sector in Wales, including our Arms-Length Bodies (ALBs).

In health and social care, AI is changing the landscape of population health management and service delivery. Proven and approved technologies as well as safe technologies that require new evidence that can be used with the public are opening new possibilities for identifying people early to avoid ill-health, for personalising treatments and supporting health and social care professionals in their day-to-day work. AI offers a powerful opportunity to enhance population outcomes, support clinical and practitioner decisions, inform timely preventative interventions and where required treatment decisions. The opportunities to increase quality of service as well as outcomes and experience as well as provide supportive infrastructure for the workforce is recognised. Wales is introducing and scaling AI decision-support tools such as in imaging services and cancer diagnostics in the NHS. Social care has leveraged AI scribe/transcription tools at scale to support staff. In parallel, work is underway to ensure that new AI tools can be assessed faster for regulatory compliance and also to put in place the data and testing infrastructure required to train, validate and deploy AI for research, commercial trials and innovation.

But with this potential comes a clear responsibility - to work within the regulatory requirements for delivering health and social care, put in safeguards such as for data access and privacy and uphold fairness across the system. Above all, individuals must feel confident that their care remains grounded through the relationship-based and compassionate care provided by the highly skilled and trained health and social care professionals, as well as the volunteers who work within health and social care.

In education, AI is already playing a major role in shaping the future of education by enabling more personalised learning experiences. It can adjust content and pace to match each learner’s needs, helping students progress at their own level. For teachers, AI offers the potential for practical support through tools like automated lesson planning, grading, and curriculum design—freeing up time to focus on teaching and mentoring. While these innovations promise a more inclusive and effective education system, they also raise important concerns. Issues such as algorithmic bias, data privacy, and the need for strong ethical standards and teacher training and capacity must be addressed to ensure AI enhances, rather than replaces, human connection. It’s also vital that schools have the right digital infrastructure to make these tools accessible to all.

In local government, AI offers a powerful toolset to enhance public services, improve efficiency, and make smarter, data-driven decisions. It can automate routine tasks like scheduling and case management, support intelligent traffic systems, and boost public engagement through chatbots and virtual assistants. AI can enable front line staff to better manage their workloads, freeing them up to spend more valuable time with service users. AI can help local government deliver more responsive services, to offer alternate and equitable routes of access to services and plan more effectively for the future. However, the benefits must be balanced with careful management of risks, such as reinforcing inequalities, compromising data privacy, or undermining public trust. Ethical and transparent use, strong human oversight, and investment in digital skills are key to ensuring AI is adopted responsibly.

In the third sector, which includes charities, voluntary organisations, community groups and social enterprises, AI also has the potential to be transformative. As key delivery partners for a wide range of public services, and with demand for services increasing in an environment of limited and contracting resources, effective use of AI can enhance efficiency, expand reach, and enable smarter decision-making. However, digital skills within the third sector are less developed when compared with the public or private sectors and therefore it is vital that the third sector is supported to develop such skills. The Newid programme, a Welsh Government-funded initiative delivered by WCVA, Cwmpas, and ProMo-Cymru, is already supporting the third sector in Wales to build digital confidence, improve service delivery, and adopt emerging technologies like AI. It is inspiring third sector organisations to take strategic and operational advantage of digital approaches to maximise social impact to ensure they are able to navigate the world of digital working securely and with confidence.

Growth of the AI sector

Wales is well positioned to capitalise on the future growth of AI and to bring together assets to be at the forefront of its economic growth opportunities. Wales’ size and agility make it ideal for piloting AI solutions and scaling them nationally.

Immediate opportunities to attract investment into Wales includes:

• Data Centre Boom: Wales is home to one of Europe’s largest hyper-scale data centre campuses, with Vantage Data Centres also having announced investment of $12 billon, the majority of which is expected to be in Wales. Microsoft is also building a major AI focussed data centre in Newport. These show the confidence the DC market has in Wales as a location for investment.
• AI Growth Zones in Wales: designed to support the fast-tracking of infrastructure, planning, and energy access for AI development. Together with the presence of data centres will create a thriving ecosystem for the development and delivery of AI services and solutions.
• Connectivity and Power: Wales offers direct access to the UK SuperGrid, renewable energy sources (e.g. Pen y Cymoedd wind farm), and proximity to London via the M4.
• Universities and R&D: Cardiff University, Swansea University, and the University of South Wales are recognised for AI, access to consented health and social care data, cybersecurity, and semiconductor research. There is also expertise with respect to Climate and Green Energy.
• Compound Semiconductors: Wales hosts the world’s first compound semiconductor cluster, vital for AI hardware.
• Cybersecurity Leadership: With the presence of stakeholders such as the Cyber Innovation Hub, Airbus Space and Defence, Cymru SOC (Security Operations Centre), Amentum and Thales Ebbw Vale, Wales is a UK leader in digital resilience.
• AI Solution development and deployment: The UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) funded Hartree Centre operates one of only three Hartree Hubs in the UK from Cardiff University. The Hartree National Centre for Digital Innovation empowers SMEs with AI and data analytics in the Cardiff Capital Region.

These are huge opportunities, but they also reflect a fundamental shift in our expectations of our workforce which will need strong leadership with an understanding of the art of the possible, as well as fairness, collaboration and social partnership.

Adoption of AI across the wider economy

Businesses are hungry to understand what AI can mean for them and how they could or should transition to adopters of AI technologies. Across the UK, there is a drive to bring together research communities and industry to explore how businesses can adopt AI and can drive productivity such as the partnership between the Hartree National Centre for Digital Innovation and IBM.

There are examples of good practice taking place across Wales and examples of industry utilising a range of AI tools within day-to-day delivery. However, the AI sector and the developing landscape can be difficult to navigate without expert advice.

According to the Wales Economic and Fiscal Report, just under half of Welsh businesses (49%) reported not currently using AI technologies, which is lower than across the UK at 56%, with the most reported AI technologies in use by Welsh businesses being data processing using machine learning, text generation using large language models, and visual content creation at 14%, 13% and 11% respectively. Factors that had prevented or delayed Welsh businesses from adopting AI were levels of expertise, cost, and difficulty identifying business use cases. These findings clearly demonstrate that whilst we have a thriving tech sector here in Wales, the broader business sector need greater support to successfully adopt AI.

Currently Business Wales provides entrepreneurs and businesses with access to a wide range of impartial information, advice and guidance to help them start and grow, including advice on digital exploitation. In addition, The Hartree Centre offers support for businesses who wish to focus on exploring a particular business problem. This type of provision needs to be scaled up in Wales.

There is a clear need to help SMEs, including social enterprises, adopt AI and develop wider support for the business community. Opportunities exist through partnership working to combine the expertise of indigenous and international tech organisations with that of the Hartree Hub to produce resources to maximise Business Wales’ capacity to help businesses understand, adopt and exploit AI.

Education and Skills

Research commissioned by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) shows that by 2035, around 10 million workers across the UK will be in roles where AI will be part of their role or responsibilities in some form, with a further 3.9 million in roles directly in AI. For Wales to remain globally competitive, we must equip people with the skills they need to be successful in an AI-powered economy.

However, access to AI skills remains one of the biggest barriers to growth for employers whether in the public, private or third sector. There is a need to understand the skills gap, to make efforts to understand the needs of businesses and to tailor and cater education and skills programmes to meet demand.

There is a need to consider the important role of education and skills programmes and lifelong learning if Wales is to fully realise the economic and societal benefits which the growth of AI brings. Welsh Government is currently exploring Wales-specific education and training opportunities for digital skills and learning whilst proactively considering alignment with planned UKG activity and interventions. The Welsh Government is also building strong industry partnerships working with schools and colleges to inspire the next generation through initiatives such as the Tech Valleys programme.

The teaching and use of AI within education presents both challenges and opportunities. Firstly, it is crucial to build learners knowledge about AI capabilities and teach them new skills such as prompt engineering and ‘data ethics’.

Secondly it is important to recognise that teaching shared values about democracy and building ‘human’ skills such as creativity, empathy and working with others may become even more valuable in a future with AI.

Thirdly, it is also important to consider how we can ensure AI is used to augment teaching and learning within our schools whilst ensuring it does not detract from the trustworthiness and integrity of the education system. Estyn have undertaken a review into AI in schools which has helped us to understand the practical applications and potential opportunities.

The development of AI brings with it new capabilities and new AI and related courses. These will help to build learners abilities to engage with these new capabilities. However, AI will also impact on the skills which will be required across many disciplines within Higher Education (HE) and Further Education (FE), as well as skills programmes, and therefore these courses need to adapt to reflect needs. Universities developing and adapting courses co-designed with industry will help to secure a talent pipeline to meet current and future needs.

We have already established an Office for AI within the Welsh Government to strengthen our policy and delivery capability, facilitate informed policymaking, and support meaningful collaboration with stakeholders across Wales, the UK, and internationally.

We have established a Strategic AI Advisory Group to provide independent advice on the adoption of AI across the public sector in Wales. It is made up of experts from academia, industry, and the public sector and serves as a key advocate for responsible innovation and the ethical application of AI in Welsh public services. It is supported by the Public Sector AI Leadership Group for Wales, made up of senior public sector officials who support cross sectoral adoption, guidance and sharing of best practice guided by the Advisory Group.

We have the Digital Service Standards for Wales and the Digital and Data Standards Board for Wales which define what good digital public services look like and provide a framework for designing and delivering efficient, cost-effective, user-centred services.

The Welsh Government will continue to work closely with the UK government - engaging on UK wide policies, initiatives and funding calls to ensure Wales benefits from the drive to make the most of the opportunities AI brings, leveraging the most from UK wide investments as well as helping to shape AI regulation.

In health and social care, the AI Health and Social Care Advisory Group (previously known as the AI Commission for Health and Social Care) exists to perform a vital role in advising on the safe and responsible use of AI. This includes providing guidance on emerging areas of AI to support system planning as well as for delivery in more complex situations.

In Wales a social partnership approach is important. This is why we have worked closely with the Workforce Partnership Council (WPC) in the development of the landmark guidance on the ethical and responsible use of AI in public sector workplaces, and this has also been endorsed by the Social Partnership Council (SPC). The guidance, Managing Technology that Manages People and Using Artificial Intelligence at Work, places fair work at the heart of AI development in public services.

Our guiding principles

While the potential benefits we can harness from technological innovation are vast, the responsible use of AI is central to this strategy. The adoption of AI should be underpinned by clear guardrails to maintain public trust and to ensure it is used safely and fairly. These include robust data governance, ethical design principles, and accountability measures to prevent bias and protect privacy. By embedding these safeguards from the outset, organisations can support innovation while ensuring AI systems align with Welsh values and serve communities responsibly.

To deliver our vision we have established a set of principles to guide the adoption of AI. We are clear in our commitment that AI developments and/or use should be:

• Ethical – Trustworthy and aligned with the values of the people of Wales, while meeting international standards of safety, responsibility, and fairness.
• Empathetic – Inclusive, accessible, and designed to benefit all, with particular focus on supporting the most vulnerable and disadvantaged.
• Enterprising – Innovative, collaborative, and committed to strengthening Wales’ research, development, and entrepreneurial ecosystem.
• Effective – Transparent, accountable, and governed responsibly, ensuring AI delivers measurable impact and public value.

Our strategic pillars

We have defined 4 strategic pillars to help us deliver our vision. These pillars guide our actions, investments, and partnerships to ensure our activity aligns to our goals. They are:

1. Economic growth - Harnessing the power of AI to drive investment, innovation, productivity, and prosperity for Wales.
2. Educating Wales - Equipping people of all ages with the knowledge and skills to thrive in an AI-powered world.
3. Equitable delivery - Ensuring AI benefits all of Wales, with fairness, inclusion, and wellbeing at the centre.
4. Excellence and trust - Leading the safe, transparent, and effective adoption of AI across public services.

1. Economic growth

Harnessing the power of AI to drive innovation, productivity, and prosperity for Wales.

We want to:

• establish Wales as a thriving hub for AI innovation and enterprise.
• ensure Wales benefits from UK-wide growth in the sector.
• help enable Welsh businesses and research institutions to develop and apply AI solutions.
• support SMEs, including social enterprises, and key industries to adopt AI and compete globally.
• attract inward investment and promote Wales as a leader in trustworthy AI, such as in public services, health and social care, and education.
• foster partnerships between universities, industry, and government to develop real-world AI applications. Use AI to address regional inequalities, improve public services, and support community-led innovation.

To achieve this, we will:

• collaborate with industry to support public transformation through AI to help address long-standing challenges, improving efficiency, outcomes, and citizen experience.
• strengthen and increase the UK’s compute capacity to support AI development in Wales in line with the UK government’s AI Opportunities Action Plan. As part of this, maximise the opportunities resulting from AI Growth Zones in Wales.
• use our strengths in AI to attract inward investment to Wales.
• work with partners to exploit the potential benefits from the construction and operation of data centres for the communities where they are located, including maximising green growth opportunities, securing opportunities for the local supply chain and providing relevant accessible skills programmes.
• promote AI in areas where Wales has distinct strengths, such as access to curated datasets for research and innovation, healthtech, cyber security, green AI, and bilingual technologies.
• strengthen the support available to SMEs, including social enterprises, to understand, contribute to, adopt and exploit AI to best effect to enable resilience, efficiency, productivity and growth.
• incentivise collaboration between academia, start-ups, established industry bodies, public sector organisations and unions to pilot the creation of AI Centres of Excellence.
• continue encourage more commercial companies in Wales, through the Helo Blod service, to develop multilingual AI tools, helping to unlock access to global marketplaces.
• encourage public facing, publicly funded content across Wales to be made available for use by AI tools through the use of Open Data.
• support AI research and development (R&D) in Welsh universities, research institutions and applied settings, such as the NHS and Social Care.

What success looks like:

• A thriving AI sector that supports the creation of more skilled jobs, helps make Wales a more attractive place to work, provides opportunities for innovation across the public and private sector, promotes environmental responsibility and attracts investment into Wales.

2. Educating Wales

Equipping people of all ages with the knowledge and skills to thrive in an AI-powered world.

We want to:

• Grow AI literacy and specialist skills across the workforce in both the public and private sectors.
• Equip Welsh public servants with the knowledge and skills to use AI responsibly and effectively.
• Encourage the safe use of cutting-edge AI and digital skills in Welsh schools.
• Ensure Wales benefits from UK wide AI skills initiatives.
• Explore the opportunity to collaborate with technology providers and companies/business to understand AI skills requirements and provide showcase opportunities for the workforce and public to try and see AI in action.

To achieve this, we will:

• Make training on AI available for public and third sector workers to enable them to effectively and responsibly utilise AI technologies. Build on the foundational training, developing options for the establishment of an AI college for public sector workers.
• Update the Curriculum for Wales Digital Competence Framework to reflect the latest developments in AI and provide clearer, practical guidance for schools. Utilise the Curriculum for Wales Grant Support Programme to support AI, computing and digital learning.
• Continue to develop professional learning resources on Hwb to equip the entire school workforce with a clear understanding of the opportunities and key considerations of AI and how it can be used effectively and appropriately to enhance learning and teaching practices.
• Encourage engagement with programmes such as Digital Inclusion Wales and Newid to help address digital skills gaps and develop partnerships with FE/HE institutions to offer adult retraining and community-based digital upskilling/reskilling opportunities.
• Support and develop apprenticeships that have AI and digital at their core.
• Explore the use of Flexible Skills Programme funds to deliver training/foundational offers for SMEs, including social enterprises, in partnership with Medr, Wales’ Commission for Tertiary Education and Research.
• Leverage UK government work on UK wide AI skills initiatives for the benefit of Wales.

What success looks like:

• Public servants, and all those involved in the delivery of public services, will understand how to use AI in their day-to-day work which will lead to better efficiency and better services.
• Learners will be empowered with the digital skills they need to thrive, both as tech users and supporting potential future careers pathways.
• People will have a greater awareness of the opportunities and risks associated with AI, including the environmental, social and cultural impact of AI applications and services, and be able to take advantage of AI skills offerings to support career development and transitions.

3. Equitable delivery

Ensuring AI benefits all of Wales, with fairness, inclusion, and wellbeing at the centre.

We want to:

• Advance ethical and sustainable approaches to AI, embedding values of fairness, transparency, and sustainability.
• Encourage and support AI adoption that reduces inequality and strengthens communities.
• Ensure alignment with our ambition to support people to meet the Minimum Digital Living Standard.
• Develop Welsh public services that are accessible and inclusive, including in the Welsh language, and that meet the need of the users. This should include consideration of other digital and non-digital routes to ensure ease of access for all.
• Develop Welsh public services which are in alignment with Wales’ Strategic Equality and Human Rights Plan 2025-2029, the Anti-Racist Wales Action Plan, the LGBTQ+ Action Plan for Wales and the Disabled People’s Rights Plan for Wales
• Ensure AI represents Welsh culture, identity and language as appropriate, enabling it to thrive.
• Continue to develop the Newid programme to ensure the third sector has the foundational skills to play a full and active role in public service design and delivery.
• Promote AI in the workplace with the aims of improving services and working environment aligning with the principles of fair work and worker’s rights.
• Demonstrate leadership in responsible, inclusive and ethical AI deployment, weighing performance and productivity gains against environmental impacts. Seek to balance the benefits of AI with improving social, economic, environmental and cultural well-being.

To achieve this, we will:

• Raise awareness of the need to understand the impact of AI adoption on digital exclusion and identify mechanisms for involving the public to ensure we understand the needs and concerns of users.
• Encourage public and third sector bodies in Wales, through guidance, to involve people of different ages and across different population groups in the adoption of AI into public services to ensure it supports Welsh language use, accessibility, equality and inclusion.
• Where public sector data is used to inform AI decision making, ensure it takes into consideration people of different ages and across different population groups, including those who are offline and for who there is limited data available, before a decision is made which impacts them.
• Encourage use of AI which places appropriate emphasis on human interaction and human oversight.
• Encourage public and third sector bodies in Wales to promote openness around AI and its use through the involvement of the public, civil society and workers in the design and development of AI services and solutions.
• Embed the ethical and responsible use of AI through social partnership and guidance such as Managing Technology that Manages People.
• Improve access to Welsh language data, alongside data about what makes life in Wales different, through the use of Open Data, to enable AI providers across the world to address the needs of Welsh language users.
• Develop a deeper understanding of the environmental impact of AI and provide Welsh public services with guidance on how this can be minimised, where appropriate.
• Commit to promoting sustainable AI practices and exploring AI applications that support climate resilience, energy management, and the circular economy.
• Align our approach to fair and equitable AI practices to Welsh Government’s forthcoming Net Zero Just Transition Framework for Wales (due to be published December 2025).

What success looks like:

• AI adoption reduces, instead of reinforcing, inequalities.
• Public and workforce trust in AI systems grows.
• AI reflects and strengthens the values of Welsh society.

4. Excellence and trust

Leading the safe, transparent, and effective adoption of AI across public services.

We want to:

• Ensure clear governance and oversight for the use of AI in Wales.
• Undertake horizon scanning for predictive trends to support planning cycles which are responsive to emerging AI capabilities.
• Develop shared services and best practice across public services.
• Increase public trust in AI through transparency, accountability, and meaningful engagement with the public and civil society about AI and its uses.
• Work collaboratively with AI providers in the development and deployment of AI solutions for the benefit of public services.
• Become a principal test bed for AI-enabled public service transformation, with a focus on health, education, and local government.

To achieve this, we will:

• Deliver on our commitment to the transparent use of AI. Require AI adoption in public services to be accountable and transparent and to have the right governance and safeguards in place. Promote a secure and ethical data sharing culture across our public sector.
• Develop guidance for use by local authorities, Arms’ length bodies and others on how best to efficiently and effectively deploy AI into their services, utilising existing guidance and standards to support consistent and interoperable systems and information.
• Develop a baseline understanding of AI related activities across the Welsh public sector and maintain an up-to-date register of AI systems in use.
• Identify opportunities to develop proofs of concepts which we can learn from and potentially scale. For example, we will investigate a proof-of-concept chatbot assistant for the Welsh Government’s redeveloped StatsWales service.
• Undertake an evaluation of the AI scribe/transcription tools currently being used across parts of the public sector in Wales to help inform future investment and deployment decisions.
• Provide a shared platform to test and use AI tools. As a start, the Welsh Government will deploy an AI enabled content design tool into it for others to use.
• Continue to work with the UK government on its AI-enabled tools, to assess how the tools it is developing can be made available and used in Wales.
• Work with UK government to ensure clear guidance is in place for businesses, third sector organisations and public services on how to comply with any legislative or regulatory requirements which may be placed on them in the future.

What success looks like:

• AI is implemented in ways that are safe, consistent, and effective across public services, and is aligned with relevant AI standards.
• Public sector organisations will provide better, faster and more efficient services to citizens.
• Shared solutions lead to quicker adoption of AI and unlock efficiency gains at scale.