S3E5 - Steve Yemm MP - Can AI Regenerate the Regions?

In this episode, I sit down with Steve Yemm MP to explore what AI — and particularly the rise of more agentic systems — could mean for regions like the East Midlands in the UK.

Coming from shared roots in the same Nottinghamshire town and school system, this becomes a conversation not just about technology, but about opportunity, ambition, skills, and the future of communities outside the traditional centres of power and investment.

We discuss:

• Whether AI risks creating a new regional divide

• How places like Mansfield and the East Midlands can genuinely benefit from the AI economy

• The challenge governments face in buying and regulating technology they barely understand

• Why adoption and trust matter as much as innovation itself

• The impact AI could have on jobs, businesses, and public services

• And how AI may become essential in supporting an ageing population and stretched services.

This is a conversation about more than technology. It’s about who benefits, who gets left behind, and what responsible AI leadership should look like in the real world.

A thoughtful discussion on regional regeneration, digital responsibility, and the future of AI in society.

Find out more at https://steveyemm.com

Please subscribe to Futurise to hear first about future episodes.