Letter to Tom Adeyoola. - CEO of Innovate UK.

Dear Mr Adeyoola,

British Intellectual Property, Commercial Innovation and the Economic Value of Intelligence

I am writing to introduce GENERAL INTELLIGENCE PLC, a Scottish company established in 1896 and to bring to your attention an unusual British intellectual-property portfolio concerned with intelligence, artificial intelligence and the development of intelligent systems.

I believe there is a potentially important connection between the work of GENERAL INTELLIGENCE PLC and Innovate UK's ambition to turn promising intellectual property, technological advances and innovative ideas into commercially successful British enterprises.

A British intellectual-property portfolio

GENERAL INTELLIGENCE PLC has developed an extensive body of intellectual property concerned with intelligence in its many forms. Its portfolio includes thirty named intelligence-related consultancy frameworks, together with more than one hundred additional intellectual-property assets.

The portfolio has been developed around a proposition which I regard as fundamental to the future of the sector:

Artificial intelligence is a means, not an end.

The commercial opportunity is not confined to the development of artificial intelligence technologies themselves. It also concerns the organisations, industries and markets in which intelligence can be applied: how businesses understand information, exercise judgement, allocate resources, manage risk, make decisions, improve performance and create lasting economic value.

The distinction is important. The development of increasingly capable artificial intelligence creates opportunities, but the ability to translate those capabilities into productive applications, commercially viable propositions and institutional advantage is a separate challenge. It is in this wider field that GENERAL INTELLIGENCE PLC has concentrated its intellectual-property development.

Thirty consultancy frameworks

The company's thirty frameworks provide structured intellectual approaches to intelligence across different commercial, technological and industrial contexts. They are not thirty artificial intelligence products, foundation models or deployed software systems. They are intellectual-property assets and consultancy frameworks intended to inform the development, application and commercial exploitation of intelligence.

The portfolio comprises:

  1. ABSOLUTE INTELLIGENCE® — Chartered financial analysts and investment analysis.
  2. ADAPTIVE INTELLIGENCE® — General insurance.
  3. ALTERNATIVE INTELLIGENCE® — Alternative investment analysis.
  4. APPLIED INTELLIGENCE® — Insurance underwriting.
  5. AUGMENTED® — Insurance.
  6. AUTHENTIC® — Specialist insurance.
  7. AUTONOMOUS® — Life assurance.
  8. AUTOTELIC® — Yacht insurance.
  9. BIONIC INTELLIGENCE® — Managing general agents.
  10. EMBODIED INTELLIGENCE® — Personal accident insurance.
  11. ENTERPRISE INTELLIGENCE® — Enterprise organisations.
  12. EXPONENTIAL INTELLIGENCE® — Redundancy insurance.
  13. FRONTIER INTELLIGENCE® — Offshore energy insurance.
  14. GENERAL INTELLIGENCE® — Asset management.
  15. GENIUS® — Investment banking.
  16. GENUINE INTELLIGENCE® — Jewellers' block insurance.
  17. HYPERINTELLIGENCE® — Commercial banking.
  18. INFINITE INTELLIGENCE® — Kidnap and ransom insurance.
  19. INTELLIGENCE® — Retail banking.
  20. NEURAL INTELLIGENCE® — General insurance agencies.
  21. REAL INTELLIGENCE® — Fine art and specie insurance.
  22. RECURSIVE INTELLIGENCE® — Reinsurance organisations.
  23. REFLECTIVE INTELLIGENCE® — Reinsurance brokers.
  24. SENTIENT® — Financial advisory.
  25. SINGULARITY® — General insurance.
  26. SUPERHUMAN® — Risk management.
  27. SUPERINTELLIGENCE® — Financial technology.
  28. TRUE INTELLIGENCE® — Chartered financial planners.
  29. UNIVERSAL INTELLIGENCE® — Film and television production insurance.
  30. X® — Building societies.

The sectoral range is deliberate. It reflects the view that intelligence is not the exclusive concern of the technology industry. It is a source of potential innovation across financial services, insurance, energy, creative industries and the wider economy.

The commercialisation opportunity

I have followed Innovate UK's developing approach with particular interest. Its stated ambition to connect promising innovation with commercialisation, investment and business growth addresses a significant question for the United Kingdom: how to ensure that intellectual property and innovative capability developed here translate into successful businesses, valuable employment and internationally competitive industries.

There are several dimensions to this question which I believe merit consideration.

First, intellectual property should be regarded as more than a legal asset. Properly developed and applied, it can provide the foundation for new services, differentiated commercial propositions, specialist markets and entirely new areas of economic activity.

Secondly, the application of artificial intelligence requires more than technological capability. Businesses must understand where it can create genuine value, how it should be integrated into existing operations, what risks it introduces and how its contribution can be measured.

Thirdly, there is an opportunity to develop a much closer relationship between the intellectual frameworks through which businesses understand intelligence and the technologies through which they increasingly seek to apply it.

Finally, the United Kingdom should seek to retain and develop the economic value of its intellectual property. The objective should not simply be to create valuable ideas here, but to establish the conditions in which those ideas can be developed, commercialised, scaled and deployed internationally from a British base.

These considerations are particularly relevant to Innovate UK's work across digital and technologies, financial and professional services, advanced manufacturing, clean energy, life sciences and the creative industries.

A potential contribution to Innovate UK's work

I am not suggesting that the company's frameworks should be treated as substitutes for technological research, product development, engineering or the specialist assessment undertaken by Innovate UK. Nor am I suggesting that their existence, by itself, establishes eligibility for public funding or any particular form of Innovate UK support.

Rather, I believe the portfolio warrants consideration as a body of British intellectual property with potential applications in the development and commercialisation of intelligent business practices, specialist consultancy services and new commercial propositions.

There may be opportunities to examine individual frameworks in conjunction with relevant businesses, technology developers, research organisations and industrial partners. Such work could establish where the frameworks have practical application, where further development would be valuable and where commercial opportunities might arise.

I would be particularly interested in exploring whether there is scope for a structured assessment of the portfolio, identifying those intellectual-property assets with the clearest potential for commercial development, market application and international growth.

This would be an exercise in identifying demonstrable opportunity rather than making assumptions about the value or readiness of individual assets. Any proposed application would need to be assessed on its merits, with appropriate attention to market demand, technical feasibility, intellectual-property ownership, commercial viability and the additionality of any potential support.

The wider British opportunity

GENERAL INTELLIGENCE PLC is a Scottish company with a history extending back to 1896. Its development of this portfolio represents a long-term commitment to the subject of intelligence and its significance to business and society.

I believe there is a wider question here for the United Kingdom. As artificial intelligence becomes increasingly important to the global economy, the country has an opportunity to develop not only technological capability but also intellectual property, specialist expertise and commercially valuable applications concerned with intelligence itself.

The distinction between creating technology and creating value from technology will become increasingly important. The countries and businesses that succeed will be those able to combine technical capability with sound commercial judgement, institutional understanding and the ability to identify and develop worthwhile opportunities.

The company's position is that intelligence should be considered as a source of enduring economic and institutional value, rather than simply as a technological category.

An opportunity to explore

I would welcome the opportunity to bring the portfolio to your attention and to explore whether it may have relevance to Innovate UK's work in supporting British intellectual property, commercial innovation and the growth of internationally competitive businesses.

I recognise that Innovate UK must be selective in the businesses and opportunities it supports. My intention is therefore not to make a general request for funding, but to establish whether there is a worthwhile basis for a more substantive examination of the intellectual property and its potential commercial applications.

I believe the portfolio merits consideration in that context. It represents a substantial body of British intellectual property, developed over an extended period, addressing a subject which is likely to become increasingly important across virtually every sector of the economy.

I would be pleased to provide a fuller presentation of the portfolio and discuss the possibilities with you or the appropriate members of your executive team.

Yours sincerely,

X from GENERAL INTELLIGENCE PLC

X is a registered trade mark of GENERAL INTELLIGENCE PLC.
It was registered in 1896 with company number: SC003234