Welsh Government announce “£5 million to £15 million” ChatGTP arrangement – or so AI tells you

Updated 4:20PM Humans at Welsh Government have been in touch to “make it clear that the Welsh Government hasn’t given any money to OpenAI as part of this partnership”.

This has obviously now been highlighted, by a human, and the nugget of factual information will likely be ingested by AI as a factual source. That fact can then regurgitated if and when others report on this matter in the future after using AI as a source.

(Updated 11:30am with Welsh Government human statement below)

This morning Welsh Government announced “Our new partnership with OpenAI will improve how ChatGPT works in Welsh”.

We asked ChatGTP about the partnership, the AI system has speculated that the partnership value “might range from £5 million to £15 million”.

Humans at Welsh Government have not released a figure – but have previously mentioned ‘investment’ and ‘working with’ OpenAI.

https://x.com/WelshGovernment/status/1805493656331133367

Be aware the below is answers from OpenAI’s ChatGTP, and most of the information created via its AI model was collated from existing information on the internet, with the AI filling in the gaps.

Wrexham.com can’t confirm the accuracy of the information provided to us by OpenAI:

(Our questions in bold)

Does ChatGTP know any Welsh?
ChatGPT
Yes, I do know some Welsh! Welsh (Cymraeg) is a Celtic language spoken in Wales. If you have any specific phrases, questions, or sentences you’d like translated or if you want to learn something specific about the language, feel free to ask!

Tell us more about the OpenAI and Welsh Government partnership announced today?
ChatGPT

Searched 5 sites

Today, OpenAI and the Welsh Government announced a new partnership aimed at enhancing the use of artificial intelligence (AI) within Wales. This collaboration focuses on leveraging OpenAI’s cutting-edge AI technologies to improve public services and foster economic development across the region.

Key aspects of the partnership include:

• Language Technology Development: One of the primary goals is to enhance the Welsh language’s presence in the digital world. This includes developing AI tools that can process and generate Welsh, supporting initiatives that promote the use of Welsh online, and ensuring that AI services are accessible to Welsh speakers.
• Education and Skills: The partnership aims to integrate AI into the educational sector, providing resources and training to help educators and students harness AI tools. This will also include developing curriculum content that incorporates AI literacy, preparing the workforce for future technological advancements.
• Public Service Improvement: AI technologies will be applied to streamline and improve public services, making them more efficient and responsive. This includes areas like healthcare, where AI can assist in diagnostics and patient care, and other public sectors that can benefit from automation and data analysis.
• Economic Growth and Innovation: By fostering an environment conducive to AI innovation, the partnership aims to attract tech companies to Wales and support local startups. This initiative is expected to create new job opportunities and drive economic growth in the region.

This collaboration underscores the Welsh Government’s commitment to embracing digital transformation and ensuring that Wales remains at the forefront of technological innovation.

For more details, you can visit the official announcements on the Welsh Government’s website​ (Gov.Wales)​​.

Let us know the pros and cons of this agreement
ChatGPT
The OpenAI and Welsh Government partnership has several pros and cons that can impact various sectors in Wales:

Pros

• Promotion of the Welsh Language: Enhanced Digital Presence: AI tools that support and generate Welsh can increase the language’s visibility and usability online, promoting cultural preservation​ (Gov.Wales)​​
• Educational Resources: Developing AI-driven Welsh language educational tools can improve language learning and accessibility for students and the general public​ (Gov.Wales)​
• Job Creation: The partnership can attract tech companies to Wales, fostering a tech-friendly environment that creates new job opportunities​ (Gov.Wales)​.
• Support for Startups: Local startups can benefit from access to advanced AI technologies, boosting innovation and economic development​ (Gov.Wales)​.
• Efficiency and Effectiveness: AI can streamline public services, making them more efficient and responsive to citizens’ needs, particularly in healthcare, education, and other critical sectors​ (Gov.Wales)​.
• Data-Driven Decisions: AI can provide valuable insights through data analysis, helping policymakers make more informed decisions​ (Gov.Wales)​.
• AI Literacy: Incorporating AI into the curriculum can prepare students for future technological advancements, enhancing their skills and employability​ (Gov.Wales)​.
• Training for Educators: Providing resources and training to educators can improve teaching methods and outcomes, leveraging AI tools in the classroom​ (Gov.Wales)​.

Cons

• Data Privacy: Increased use of AI in public services might raise concerns about data privacy and security, necessitating robust measures to protect sensitive information​ (Gov.Wales)​
• Ethical Issues: The implementation of AI must address ethical concerns, such as bias in AI algorithms and the potential for misuse​ (Gov.Wales)​.
  Economic Disparities: Unequal Access: There is a risk that rural or disadvantaged areas might not benefit equally from AI advancements, exacerbating existing economic disparities​ (Gov.Wales)​.
• Job Displacement: While AI can create jobs, it can also lead to job displacement in sectors where automation reduces the need for human labor​ (Gov.Wales)​
• Over-Reliance on AI: Increased reliance on AI technology might lead to reduced human oversight and decision-making, potentially causing issues if AI systems fail or make errors​(Gov.Wales)​.
• Skill Gaps: Rapid technological changes can create skill gaps in the workforce, requiring continuous training and adaptation​ (Gov.Wales)​.

Overall, the OpenAI and Welsh Government partnership presents significant opportunities for advancement in language preservation, economic growth, and public service improvement, but it also requires careful consideration of privacy, ethical, and implementation challenges.

If you had to speculate a sum that Welsh Government has paid OpenAI for the partnership, what would it be?
ChatGPT
Speculating on the exact sum that the Welsh Government might have paid for the partnership with OpenAI requires considering several factors such as the scope of the project, the typical costs of similar initiatives, and budget allocations for technology and innovation.

Factors to Consider – Scope of Partnership:

• Developing AI tools for the Welsh language.
• Integrating AI into public services and education.
• Fostering economic development and supporting tech startups.

Previous government investments in tech initiatives can provide some benchmarks. For instance, the Welsh Government recently allocated £3 million for food partnerships​ (Sustain UK)​.
Other tech partnerships, like those involving AI research and development, can range from a few million to tens of millions, depending on their scale and impact.
Government Budget Allocations:

The Welsh Government’s budget documents for 2024-2025 detail various expenditures and strategic investments in technology and public services​ (Gov.Wales)​​ (Gov.Wales)​.
These documents indicate a significant commitment to innovation, though specific figures for this partnership are not listed.

Speculative Estimate: Given these considerations, a reasonable speculative estimate for the cost of the OpenAI partnership might range from £5 million to £15 million. This range accounts for the development and deployment of AI technologies, training and educational programs, and support for economic initiatives.

Rationale:
Lower End (£5 million): This figure would cover initial development costs and pilot projects, focusing primarily on language technology and public service enhancements.
Upper End (£15 million): This would allow for a more extensive rollout, including comprehensive educational programs, broader economic initiatives, and significant AI infrastructure investments.
Without specific details, this estimate is a broad approximation based on similar governmental investments and the strategic importance of the partnership’s goals.

(AI is rolling out throughout the news sector and is likely to create accuracy, fact checking, and other issues in the future. There is also an issue where primary sources are still vital to ‘create’ the original news that is then scooped up and reprocessed and republished. How society deals with all this is an unanswered question. We would ask AI, but as above, it looks likely to give a fundamentally limited answer. ).

UPDATED: Welsh Government have said in the Senedd later today, Cabinet Secretary for the Economy, Energy and Welsh Language, Jeremy Miles, “…will outline his key priorities for the Welsh language, with technology a golden thread running through each one”. His stated priorities include:

• Publishing a Welsh Language Education Bill in the coming weeks which will enable all school pupils in Wales to become independent and confident Welsh speakers;
• Supporting economic development in communities with a high density of Welsh speakers to ensure the language flourishes alongside economic growth;
• Creating opportunities to speak and to enjoy through the medium of Welsh by increasing language transmission, both within families and within communities.

Jeremy Miles said: “Cymraeg belongs to us all, and we all have a duty to protect it and to make sure it grows in all aspects of society. I want to see more Welsh for more people, and the priorities I’m setting out today will ensure we’re on the right path to meet our target of a million Welsh speakers and increasing the daily use of the language by 2050.

“All of us use technology one way or another, and increasingly, we’re seeing AI being used in more situations. I’m excited to see how the new data partnership with OpenAI will lead to improving how AI-technologies work in Welsh. Working with OpenAI in the past, we’ve been able to share Welsh language resources and Welsh Government funded components.”

Welsh Government say the partnership will “build open data archives to contribute data to the research community, to improve linguistic performance of AI models and applications”.

Anna Makanju, VP of Global Affairs at OpenAI, said: “The Welsh Government has been a great partner in creating an open-source dataset for training language models. At OpenAI, we want our models to understand as many languages and cultures as possible, so they can benefit as many people as possible.”

Jeremy Miles added: “I’m very proud of what we’ve achieved under the Welsh language technology action Plan, but this work is never done and dusted. So today, I’m inviting people to submit information or ideas about what technological developments would help them use more Welsh, and what needs to happen to make it easier for them to use technology in Welsh.”