We’ve talked before about the difference between AI hype and real progress. But even as awareness grows, the buzz around generative AI continues to surge, often with little reference to its practical limitations.

AI is reshaping how businesses operate, from automating workflows to transforming how we understand and interact with data. But as machine learning systems become more complex, the need for transparency becomes harder to ignore.

In Part 1 of our blog, we reflected on the strong interest from the construction sector during our time at the Bridge AI Annual Showcase 2025 at Convene Sancroft in London. But the day also revealed valuable insights from another group of attendees: those working in education, marketing, and cultural heritage.

Earlier this week, Aralia Systems took part in the Bridge AI Annual Showcase 2025, held at Convene Sancroft near St Paul’s in London. The event brought together a dynamic mix of AI innovators, researchers, and industry partners to explore the real-world application of artificial intelligence across key UK sectors.

As AI continues to dominate headlines, it’s becoming harder to tell what’s real and what’s speculative. Is Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) just around the corner? Will AI replace most jobs, or just reshape them? Should you learn prompt engineering or take up physics?

What if you could carry a 3D scanner in your pocket – and turn the real world into virtual content, instantly?

The science behind XR is older than you think. The 19th century wasn’t just steam engines – it was the birthplace of immersive vision.

Before VR headsets and holograms, there was a painfully shy Victorian physicist with a cardboard contraption and a radical idea about how we see the world.

In recent weeks, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has doubled down on the transformative promise of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI). In two public statements, including an interview with Marketing AI Institute and his own blog post, Three Observations, Altman presents AGI as both inevitable and urgently near.

As the world dashes into an AI-driven future, Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis recently warned young people: “Learn now or be left behind.”

It’s a provocative message, but it deserves closer scrutiny.

Conversations with young people about AI often fall into two extremes: either it’s their golden ticket to becoming “AI Ninjas,” or it’s the force that will wipe out their future in the arts, sciences, or creative industries.

The reality is more nuanced, and far more important to get right.

Applying for funding through Innovate UK can be a game-changer for your business, but it’s not something to leave until the night before the deadline. With thousands of applicants and only a handful of successful awards, preparation and alignment are everything. Having recently been through the process ourselves, here’s what we’ve learned.

At Aralia Systems, we're redefining what's possible with mobile 3D imaging. As part of the UKRI-funded BridgeAI programme, we recently completed a cutting-edge project to develop AI-driven 3D reconstruction technology that works with just a smartphone. The goal? To combine the power of photogrammetry and photometric stereo into a single, scalable solution, no expensive LiDAR required.

Data-driven AI goes far beyond language models like ChatGPT. Learn how AI is evolving into a tool that can model and replicate complex human tasks, and why this matters for industries like construction, food service, and care.

For small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), innovation isn’t just about breakthrough inventions, it’s about staying relevant, solving real problems, and building better products and services. In a fast-moving economy, the businesses that invest in research and development (R&D) are the ones best positioned to adapt, compete, and grow.

Innovation drives the UK’s most dynamic small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), especially in tech, engineering, and software development. But amid product launches, prototypes, and problem-solving, many businesses overlook a valuable source of funding: the UK government’s R&D tax relief scheme.

The UK government and major technology firms continue to promote an optimistic vision of artificial intelligence, one in which automation enhances productivity, unlocks economic potential, and liberates workers from mundane tasks. In this narrative, AI is not a job killer, but a catalyst for new roles, enabling more creative, efficient, and inclusive economy.

AI promises to modernise the UK’s public sector, from automating routine services to transforming healthcare diagnostics. But the conversation has been dominated by efficiency metrics and budget projections, not ethical consequences or citizen wellbeing.

The UK government is exploring the creation of a copyright-cleared British media asset training dataset, which could provide AI developers with high-quality content for training models. The outcome of this debate will define not just the future of British creative industries, but also the ethical framework that governs AI development.

To support its AI ambitions, the UK is considering sovereign AI compute resources—essentially, government-backed AI supercomputing power to reduce reliance on foreign cloud providers.

But is this the best use of resources, or should the UK partner with industry to build AI infrastructure more efficiently?