Letter to Tom Arthur MSP. - Scottish Minister for Business and Fair Work.

Dear Mr Arthur,

Thirty Consultancy Frameworks for Intelligence, Productivity and Fair Work

I am writing to introduce GENERAL INTELLIGENCE PLC, a Scottish company established in 1896 and to bring to your attention a substantial portfolio of intellectual property which I believe has potential relevance to the development, competitiveness and future productivity of Scottish businesses.

Your responsibilities as Minister for Business and Fair Work encompass an important combination of economic and social objectives: supporting businesses, strengthening the digital economy, improving employment opportunities, promoting fair work and ensuring that the benefits of economic development are more widely shared.

I believe these objectives are increasingly connected by a common issue: how effectively organisations understand information, make decisions, develop their people, apply technology and create sustainable value.

This is the subject at the heart of GENERAL INTELLIGENCE PLC's work.

Intelligence as a source of business advantage

The development of artificial intelligence is changing the operating environment for businesses of every size. It is creating opportunities to improve productivity, reduce administrative burdens, enhance customer service, manage complexity and develop new commercial activities.

However, the acquisition of artificial intelligence technology does not automatically make a business more productive, competitive or intelligent.

The real opportunity lies in how effectively an organisation applies intelligence: how it understands its customers and markets, makes decisions, allocates resources, manages risk, develops its workforce, adapts to change and identifies new opportunities.

Our central proposition is:

Artificial intelligence is a means, not an end.

Technology should serve the wider objectives of the organisation. Its value should be judged by the improvements it produces, rather than simply by the extent to which it is adopted.

This distinction is particularly important for Scotland's small and medium-sized businesses, which may have considerable scope to benefit from artificial intelligence but do not necessarily possess the internal resources, technical expertise or specialist advice available to larger organisations.

There is an opportunity to help businesses approach artificial intelligence in a more structured and commercially meaningful way, ensuring that technological investment is connected to measurable improvements in business performance and the quality of working life.

GENERAL INTELLIGENCE PLC

GENERAL INTELLIGENCE PLC is a Scottish company established in 1896. Its work includes artificial intelligence consultancy and the development of intellectual property concerned with intelligence across a wide range of commercial and professional disciplines.

The company has developed thirty named intelligence-related consultancy frameworks, together with more than one hundred additional intelligence-related intellectual-property assets.

The frameworks are designed to provide structured intellectual approaches to intelligence in different commercial and organisational contexts. They are consultancy frameworks and intellectual-property assets, not thirty artificial intelligence products, foundation models or deployed software systems.

The thirty consultancy frameworks

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 portfolio spans financial services, insurance, technology, professional services, energy and other specialist commercial environments. Its breadth reflects the view that intelligence is a fundamental business capability, rather than a subject confined to the technology sector.

A more intelligent Scottish business community

I believe there are several areas in which the company's work may be relevant to the Scottish Government's business and economic priorities.

1. Business productivity and competitiveness

Scotland's businesses need to be able to identify where artificial intelligence and other intelligent systems can make a genuine difference to their performance.

The challenge is to move beyond general awareness of artificial intelligence towards practical application.

A structured approach could help businesses identify opportunities to improve processes, make better use of information, strengthen decision-making, manage operational risk and develop more effective commercial strategies.

For smaller businesses in particular, this need not require substantial investment in new technology at the outset. It should begin with an understanding of the business itself, the problems it needs to solve and the outcomes it wishes to achieve.

2. Small and medium-sized enterprises

The benefits of artificial intelligence should not be confined to Scotland's largest employers or technology companies.

Smaller businesses often possess considerable specialist knowledge and commercial expertise, but may lack the resources to assess the growing range of available technologies.

There may be scope to develop accessible consultancy approaches which help SMEs understand the relevance of artificial intelligence to their particular operations, identify worthwhile applications and assess the potential return on investment.

The objective should be practical: helping businesses become more productive, more resilient and better equipped to compete.

3. Fair work and the changing workplace

The relationship between artificial intelligence and employment deserves particular attention.

Technological change can alter the nature of work, the skills required by employers and the way in which organisations are managed. It can remove repetitive tasks, support more complex work and create new occupational opportunities. It can also introduce challenges concerning job security, workplace monitoring, the distribution of productivity gains and the need for continuing skills development.

I believe businesses should approach these changes with a clear understanding of their responsibilities to employees.

The successful adoption of artificial intelligence should not be measured exclusively by reductions in cost or headcount. It should also consider whether employees are better equipped to perform their work, whether unnecessary administrative burdens have been removed, whether working practices have improved and whether the benefits of increased productivity are shared appropriately.

This is particularly relevant to the Scottish Government's fair work agenda, including effective worker voice, employment opportunities and the development of a more productive and inclusive labour market.

4. Management capability and better decision-making

One of the most important opportunities lies in improving the quality of management.

Businesses make decisions continually about investment, recruitment, customers, suppliers, operations, technology and growth. The quality of those decisions can have a profound effect on commercial performance.

Artificial intelligence may provide access to information and analytical capabilities which were previously unavailable to many organisations. However, those capabilities need to be accompanied by sound judgement, appropriate accountability and a clear understanding of the business.

There is scope to consider how intelligence-related consultancy frameworks could help organisations develop more disciplined approaches to decision-making, organisational learning and commercial strategy.

5. Business resilience and economic transitions

Scottish businesses operate in an environment of changing technology, international competition, demographic pressures and economic uncertainty.

The ability to anticipate change, adapt operations and identify new opportunities is increasingly important.

The company's frameworks may offer a basis for examining how organisations understand their operating environments, assess risks and develop their capacity to respond to change.

This could be relevant not only to established businesses, but also to companies undergoing restructuring, businesses seeking new markets and employers facing significant changes in their industries.

6. Social enterprise and local economic development

The application of intelligence should not be restricted to large commercial organisations.

Social enterprises, community businesses and locally rooted organisations also need to make effective use of information, manage resources, develop sustainable operating models and deliver measurable outcomes.

There may be opportunities to consider how appropriate frameworks could support these organisations, particularly where better use of technology and organisational knowledge could improve their resilience and contribution to local communities.

Scotland's economic opportunity

I believe Scotland has an opportunity to develop a distinctive approach to the relationship between artificial intelligence, business performance and fair work.

It should seek not only to attract technology investment, but also to develop the intellectual property, specialist expertise and organisational capabilities that enable Scottish businesses to make productive use of technology.

This has implications for business support, workforce development, digital participation, employment and international competitiveness.

There is also an important question concerning ownership. Intellectual property developed in Scotland can become the foundation for Scottish consultancy businesses, specialist services, licensing arrangements and internationally competitive commercial propositions.

GENERAL INTELLIGENCE PLC represents an example of a Scottish company which has developed a substantial body of intellectual property in a field of growing importance.

I believe it would be worthwhile to examine whether elements of this portfolio could be developed further through engagement with Scottish businesses, relevant industry bodies and appropriate public and private-sector partners.

A practical proposal

Rather than make a general request for support, I would suggest a focused examination of the thirty frameworks and their potential relevance to Scotland's business community.

This could identify:

  • The frameworks with the clearest applications to Scottish industries and employers.
  • Opportunities to help SMEs understand and apply artificial intelligence.
  • Potential improvements in productivity, management capability and organisational resilience.
  • Applications which could support fair work and workforce development.
  • Opportunities for collaboration with Scottish businesses, social enterprises and industry organisations.
  • Potential commercial opportunities through consultancy, licensing, partnerships and international markets.

The exercise should be evidence-led. Each proposed application would need to be considered in terms of business demand, practical feasibility, commercial value and measurable outcomes.

I would be particularly interested in whether there may be an appropriate route through which the company could engage with the Scottish Government's business support and digital economy activities, or with organisations already working directly with Scottish employers.

I recognise that public resources must be applied carefully and that any proposed activity would need to complement existing provision rather than duplicate it. My intention is to establish whether there is a constructive opportunity to bring this intellectual property into closer contact with Scotland's business community.

A long-term perspective

GENERAL INTELLIGENCE PLC has a history extending back to 1896. Its current intellectual-property portfolio reflects a sustained commitment to the subject of intelligence and its application.

The next phase of economic development will require businesses to become more capable of understanding and using intelligence, both human and artificial.

The opportunity for Scotland is to ensure that technological progress translates into stronger businesses, better employment opportunities, improved productivity and greater economic resilience.

I believe the thirty consultancy frameworks merit consideration as one possible contribution to that objective.

I would welcome the opportunity to provide you with a fuller presentation of the portfolio and to discuss whether there may be scope for a constructive engagement with your department and the relevant business support organisations.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

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