Letter to the Rt Hon Jonathan Reynolds MP. - UK Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade.

Dear Mr Reynolds,

British Intellectual Property and the Next Generation of Commercial Opportunity

I am writing to introduce GENERAL INTELLIGENCE PLC, a Scottish company established in 1896 and to bring to your attention a substantial portfolio of British intellectual property concerned with intelligence, artificial intelligence and its application across the economy.

The combination of business, innovation, science and trade within your department is particularly relevant to the company's work. These areas are increasingly interdependent. Scientific and technological advances create new possibilities; innovation turns those possibilities into practical applications; businesses develop them into commercial propositions; and international trade provides the opportunity to scale their value across global markets.

I believe there is an important opportunity for the United Kingdom to develop this relationship more deliberately in the field of intelligence.

The commercial significance of intelligence

Artificial intelligence is becoming an increasingly important component of economic activity. It is changing how businesses operate, how products and services are developed, how information is analysed and how decisions are made.

However, the economic opportunity is considerably broader than the development or adoption of artificial intelligence technologies.

The more fundamental question is how intelligence can be developed and applied to improve the performance of businesses, institutions and industries.

Our central proposition is:

Artificial intelligence is a means, not an end.

The value of artificial intelligence lies in what it enables people and organisations to achieve. That includes better understanding, more effective decision-making, improved productivity, stronger risk management, innovation, commercial differentiation and the creation of new economic opportunities.

Technology alone does not guarantee these outcomes. They depend upon the ability to identify worthwhile applications, understand the operating environment, exercise judgement and translate technological capability into practical commercial value.

This distinction is central to the work of GENERAL INTELLIGENCE PLC.

The company and its intellectual property

GENERAL INTELLIGENCE PLC is a Scottish company established in 1896. Its current activities include artificial intelligence consultancy and the development of intellectual property concerned with intelligence in its various forms.

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

The portfolio represents a sustained intellectual-property development programme, built around the proposition that intelligence is a source of commercial and institutional value across virtually every sector of the economy.

Thirty consultancy frameworks

The company's thirty frameworks are structured intellectual approaches developed for different commercial, industrial and professional contexts. They are consultancy frameworks and intellectual-property assets, not thirty artificial intelligence products, foundation models or deployed software systems.

They comprise:

  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 intentional. It demonstrates the company's view that intelligence should not be treated as an isolated technology market. It is relevant to the performance and development of established industries, specialist professional services and emerging commercial opportunities.

Four areas of potential national economic value

I believe the portfolio raises four issues of particular relevance to your department.

1. Intellectual property as an economic asset

The United Kingdom's economic success depends not only on its ability to generate ideas, but also on its ability to protect, develop, commercialise and retain the value of those ideas.

Intellectual property can provide the foundation for new businesses, specialist consultancy services, licensing arrangements, commercial partnerships and differentiated products and services.

The challenge is to ensure that valuable intellectual assets do not remain underdeveloped, but are connected to markets, appropriate commercial partners and opportunities for growth.

GENERAL INTELLIGENCE PLC's portfolio represents a body of British intellectual property which could be examined in this context. Its potential should be assessed not merely by the number of assets, but by their individual applications, market relevance and capacity for further development.

2. Innovation and the translation of ideas into business

There is often a considerable distance between an original idea and a commercially successful business proposition.

Research and intellectual development need to be connected with practical applications, customer requirements, technical capability, investment and commercial execution.

The company's frameworks offer a possible starting point for examining how intelligence can be applied in specific sectors and how artificial intelligence may contribute to new or improved services, business models and organisational capabilities.

There may be opportunities to develop selected frameworks in collaboration with businesses, research organisations, technology companies and other appropriate partners.

The objective would be to identify credible commercial applications rather than assume that every intellectual-property asset has an immediate market.

3. Productivity and business competitiveness

The United Kingdom's productivity challenge cannot be addressed through technology acquisition alone.

Businesses must understand how to use information more effectively, improve their operating models, make better decisions and apply new capabilities in ways that produce measurable results.

Artificial intelligence may assist with these objectives, but its contribution depends on the quality of its implementation and the organisation's ability to integrate it into its activities.

The frameworks may provide a structured basis for examining intelligence within different business environments, including management, operations, customer relationships, financial decision-making, risk and growth.

This could be particularly relevant to businesses seeking to move beyond experimentation and establish sustainable commercial benefits from artificial intelligence.

4. International competitiveness and trade

The international market for artificial intelligence and intelligence-related services is developing rapidly.

The United Kingdom has an opportunity to develop not only technological products, but also specialist intellectual property, consultancy expertise, commercial methodologies and services which can be applied internationally.

The company's portfolio has been developed around different sectors and professional environments. There may be opportunities to develop selected frameworks into internationally relevant consultancy propositions, commercial partnerships and licensing arrangements.

This raises a wider question of how British intellectual property can be developed into exportable expertise and commercial activity, rather than allowing the economic value of original ideas to be realised elsewhere.

As President of the Board of Trade, I believe this aspect of the portfolio may be of particular interest.

A broader industrial opportunity

The application of intelligence is not confined to technology businesses. It has potential relevance to the established industries upon which much of the British economy depends.

Financial services, insurance, energy, manufacturing, professional services, creative industries and other sectors are all considering how artificial intelligence and increasingly sophisticated analytical systems may affect their future operations.

The opportunity is to help those industries understand and apply intelligence in ways which are commercially meaningful.

For example, the company's financial services frameworks address different aspects of banking, investment management, financial technology and financial advice. Its insurance-related frameworks address specialist markets, underwriting, risk and reinsurance. Other frameworks are concerned with enterprise organisations, energy and creative industries.

This sector-specific approach may be useful in identifying opportunities where artificial intelligence can be applied to existing commercial knowledge and established markets, rather than focusing exclusively on entirely new technology businesses.

The importance of British ownership and development

GENERAL INTELLIGENCE PLC is a Scottish company with a history extending back to 1896. Its intellectual-property portfolio represents a long-term commitment to the subject of intelligence.

I believe there is a wider national interest in ensuring that intellectual property developed by British companies has the opportunity to be developed commercially, supported by appropriate expertise and connected to international markets.

The question is not simply whether the United Kingdom can attract investment into artificial intelligence. It is also whether it can develop and retain valuable intellectual property, create successful businesses around it and establish internationally competitive expertise.

The company has received interest from overseas in aspects of its intellectual-property portfolio. I mention this not as evidence of any concluded transaction or independently established valuation, but because it illustrates the importance of considering the portfolio's potential in an international context.

Our preference is to see British intellectual property developed constructively and its economic potential properly examined.

A practical proposal

I would welcome the opportunity to explore whether there is an appropriate basis for a structured assessment of the portfolio, with particular attention to its potential contribution to the Department's business, innovation, science and trade objectives.

Such an assessment could consider:

  1. The individual intellectual-property assets and their commercial applications.
  2. The frameworks with the strongest potential for further development.
  3. Opportunities for collaboration with British businesses, universities and research organisations.
  4. Potential applications of the frameworks in established industries and emerging markets.
  5. Opportunities for consultancy, licensing, commercial partnerships and new business development.
  6. The potential to develop internationally marketable services and intellectual-property propositions.
  7. The practical steps required to translate selected assets into measurable economic value.

I recognise that any such opportunity would need to be assessed objectively. The existence of intellectual property does not, by itself, establish commercial readiness, market demand or eligibility for public support.

I am not making a general request for Government funding or endorsement. My intention is to establish whether the portfolio warrants serious consideration and whether there may be an appropriate route for engagement with the relevant parts of your department.

The next generation of British commercial opportunity

The integration of business, innovation, science and trade within your department recognises an important economic reality: the United Kingdom's future prosperity depends upon its ability to turn knowledge into innovation, innovation into successful businesses and successful businesses into internationally competitive enterprises.

I believe intelligence will become an increasingly important part of that process.

The opportunity extends beyond the development of artificial intelligence itself. It includes the intellectual property, specialist knowledge, commercial applications and organisational capabilities which will determine how much economic value can be created from it.

GENERAL INTELLIGENCE PLC has developed a substantial portfolio in this field. I believe it deserves consideration as a body of British intellectual property with potential relevance to the country's long-term commercial and technological development.

I would be pleased to provide you with a fuller presentation of the portfolio and discuss whether there may be a constructive basis for further examination with you or the appropriate members of your department.

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