The UK government is under immense pressure to respond to geopolitical instability, financial pressures and rapid technological change - but traditional policymaking methods are struggling to keep pace. AI has the potential to transform how government makes decisions, delivers public services and responds to a rapidly changing world - but what would a smart AI-enabled state actually look like? And is the government ready to adopt and embed AI?

With Andy Burnham now two-thirds of the way through his first 100 days in Downing Street, AI is a topic he has already had to face head-on. But might Burnham's new government use AI to build a smarter, more agile state?

To dive into this question, Nesta CEO Ravi Gurumurthy sat down with Professor Geoff Mulgan, former head of the Number 10 Strategy Unit, on our deep-dive series from the Policy Fix podcast: Andy Burnham's first 100 days.

Our duo discuss the areas where AI could transform policymaking, allowing civil servants to analyse evidence, test ideas and model scenarios at speed - and why avoiding AI-dependence while keeping human judgement intact is critical.

The conversation explores what an AI-enabled government could mean for Andy Burnham's approach to public control, how AI could make regulators smarter, whether public services could continuously learn and improve and what a more democratic alternative to centralised, authoritarian uses of AI might look like.

So, as Andy Burnham approaches the end of his first 100 days, what could he do to start modernising the state with AI? Listen to our latest episode to find out.

Chapters
00:00 Introduction
00:41 Designing policymaking for the AI era
06:16 Will AI create overconfident generalists?
07:31 Using AI in the spending review
11:03 How AI could fix meetings
14:12 Leapfrogging Westminster
15:47 Can AI make state planning work?
19:57 Smarter regulators
21:56 A democratic alternative to authoritarian AI
23:41 Global governance of AI
27:34 Public services that continuously learn
32:38 How many civil servants should there be?
34:11 The one thing Burnham should do

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Watch the full series on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfr-pIsrx5ko
Find out more about Nesta: https://www.nesta.org.uk

Nesta is a UK research and innovation foundation. We design, test and scale solutions to the big challenges of our time. We're funded by a charity endowment and are politically neutral.

Former Deputy National Security Adviser Jonathan Black joins Nesta CEO Ravi Gurumurthy to ask how Andy Burnham can make the UK economy more secure in a world where trade, technology, energy and investment have become tools of geopolitical competition.

This episode is part of Andy Burnham's first 100 days, our deep-dive series on the choices facing the new prime minister.

Ravi and Jonathan talk about how the UK should handle its economic relationships with the US, China and Europe, and where it needs to cut its reliance on countries and technologies that could leave it exposed. Jonathan draws on 25 years in government, including time as the prime minister's G7 and G20 sherpa. He goes through the hard trade-offs on offshore wind, AI and industrial policy, whether the UK should make a strategic bet on Europe, and what Whitehall needs to change to make these decisions well.

Chapters
00:00 Introduction
01:56 Can a prime minister avoid foreign policy?
05:48 Global integration meets great power rivalry
08:03 Does US–China interdependence prevent conflict?
13:28 How economic security policy fails
19:36 The Mingyang offshore wind decision
25:40 AI and sovereign capability
28:46 Depending on US frontier models
32:08 Should the UK make a strategic bet on Europe?
35:24 Middle powers and coalitions of the willing
37:52 How Whitehall needs to change
43:08 Working with business without being captured
44:50 Burnham's diary and his first 100 days

Liked the episode? Rate, review, subscribe – and share it with your network.

Watch the full series on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfr-pIsrx5ko
Find out more about Nesta: https://www.nesta.org.uk

Nesta is a UK research and innovation foundation. We design, test and scale solutions to the big challenges of our time. We're funded by a charity endowment and are politically neutral.

The UK's overseas aid budget is at its lowest level in decades, with cuts having far-reaching consequences for people and communities around the world. But increasing aid spending would mean making difficult choices at home too. With his first 100 days drawing to a close, how should Andy Burnham be looking to make foreign aid spending work? And how can he make sure that money has the greatest impact?

To dive into these questions, Nesta CEO Ravi Gurumurthy was joined by Kate Hampton, CEO of the Children's Investment Fund Foundation, on the Policy Fix podcast's deep-dive series: Andy Burnham's first 100 days.

They discuss what the UK's reduced aid spending means in practice, from its impact on children, women and climate action to the risks of doing nothing. They also explore how Burnham's government could make the case for increasing aid spending at a time when there are competing pressures on public money at home.

The conversation looks at how the UK could use its influence to put international development higher up the global agenda, including through the G7 and G20. They also explore how to get better value from aid spending - from reforming international finance and tackling debt to finding better ways to deliver and scale what works.

So, as Andy Burnham approaches the end of his first 100 days, what should he do to make UK aid work harder? Listen to the full episode to find out.

Chapters
00:00 Introduction
00:50 Why development matters to a domestically focused PM
03:15 Has the UK lost influence after the aid cuts?
04:26 Beyond the 0.7% target
06:30 Reforming global finance and tackling debt
12:23 Can finance reform make up for aid cuts?
15:12 Aid in fragile and conflict-hit countries
18:21 Getting money out before disasters strike
20:43 How energy shocks and trade barriers hit the poorest
24:18 What the G7 and G20 actually do
30:36 What the UK should put on the G20 agenda
33:06 How to run an ambitious G20 presidency
35:44 Making the case for development at home
39:55 The role of philanthropy
42:33 The one thing Burnham should do

Liked the episode? Rate, review, subscribe – and share it with your network.

Watch the full series on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfr-pIsrx5ko
Find out more about Nesta: https://www.nesta.org.uk