Meeting of the Parliament 25 January 2024
I will pick up where Brian Whittle left off, because the issue at hand is about challenge, what we need to achieve and the gap between what that means and where we are now.
There are many things in the Government’s motion that we can agree with. There are many things that we should be celebrating. Technology is undoubtedly one of our strengths. We have fantastic innovation when it comes to tech start-ups, both here and in Glasgow. We have phenomenal strength in the games industry in Dundee. In addition, fascinating work is being done in Aberdeen on robotics and the use of technology in the supply chain. However, are we a leader in technology? Are we there yet?
If this subject were being debated in Seoul, California or Estonia, I do not think that we would have a motion quite like the one that we have from the Scottish Government. I think that the politicians in those places would be rigorously focused on what they needed to do to keep pace. On issues such as AI, they would be thinking about whether China was going to replace them, where the next challenges were going to come from and whether future global conflicts could potentially result in a global supply chain shortage of silicon chips. Those are the sort of issues that we need to be alive to. We must also recognise how much further we still have to go if we are truly to be a tech nation.
I will set out some of the challenges that we need to address. I am glad that the minister mentioned AI in his opening remarks, but, frankly, a motion on technology that does not—in this day and age—even name check AI is simply deficient. We will support the Government motion, but I urge the Government to back the amendments of Labour and the Conservatives, because it is important that we are clear-eyed about what those challenges are.
Let me start with the Logan review. It was excellent, but it was very clear about the challenges. Yes, the Government has moved forward on some of the recommendations, but not all of them. The Logan review was very clear about the importance of education. Any tech entrepreneur will highlight the importance of computer science teachers in our schools, but the number of such teachers has declined, not increased, since that report was published. What is more, only handfuls of trainee computer science teachers are going through teacher training college.
That is an issue of national importance. It is certainly one of critical importance to the tech sector, but it goes beyond just computer science teachers. It is also about how we are teaching technology. I hear concerns not only from the tech sector but from parents, through my casework, about the fact that the availability of iPads in the classroom is seen as a proxy for technology. Frankly, our children do not need to be taught how to consume technology; they need to be taught how to use and manipulate it.