The government has today launched its National AI Office (NAIO) with a headline figure of £1 million. Ministers hailed it as a bold new step in the island’s AI journey.
But scratch beneath the surface and the story is far less revolutionary: the £1m is not new money, but carved out of the £5m ‘Economic Strategy Fund’ budget approved back in 2024.
2026: National AI Office Launch
Today’s announcement sets out six deliverables for the first year, including drafting a ‘National AI Strategy’, delivering literacy programmes, accelerating adoption across the economy, and supporting a future‑ready workforce.
Chief Minister Alf Cannan framed the launch as the next phase of reform:
“The launch of the National AI Office today builds on a period of significant groundwork to agree a clear operating model, purpose and key deliverables, and marks the beginning of the next phase of our journey… AI must be part of how we deliver faster, simpler and more cost‑effective services for our community.”
Enterprise Minister Tim Johnston stressed that the Office was not about creating something new, but about consolidating existing government functions:
“The National AI Office is not about creating another organisation within government. It is about bringing together existing functions, resources, skills and expertise into a focused operating model that builds on strong foundations already in place… Our allocation of a £1 million investment will be focused on delivering the six priority areas over the first 12 months.”
What the Government calls “investment” is in reality taxpayers’ money being spent on itself — recycled budgets that keep civil servants busy being busy. Instead of supporting businesses already deploying AI, ministers have created layers of offices, strategies, and training schemes that amount to little more than bureaucracy feeding bureaucracy. Staff are kept occupied drafting papers, running courses, and re-badging existing functions, but the question remains: what will they actually achieve for the public?
Beyond headlines and internal activity, there is no clear evidence of new jobs, external investment, or tangible benefits — just government simply trousering its own money and congratulating itself for doing so.
Let’s take a look at how we got here. Manx.News has been looking back at the chaotic journey for this project by a Department already under scrutiny for expanding.
2024: The £5m AI Budget and LearnAI.im
The story begins around March 2024, when Digital Isle of Man launched its AI Programme, setting a bold target: a 10% increase in GDP by 2030 through AI‑driven productivity. Funding was secured from the Economic Strategy Board, a ‘Head of AI’ was recruited, and a Memorandum of Understanding was signed with AI Singapore.
By August, the Government unveiled LearnAI.im, a free training portal and in‑person sessions under the ‘ActivateAI’ campaign. Residents were offered courses like “AI in a day’s work” and “Responsible AI for Senior Executives”. While framed as inclusive and community‑focused, the initiative was another government‑run programme funded from the £5m allocation.
Later that year, Johnston admitted he couldn’t predict which jobs would be lost to AI, only that routine manual roles were most at risk. His solution? More government training schemes — not direct wage support or industry‑led innovation.
2025: Regulatory Office Announced and Scoping Work
In September 2025, Cannan announced a National Office for AI Development and Regulation, tying it to EU regulation and a £50m efficiency drive. At the time, Ramsey MHK Lawrie Hooper slammed the move as “entirely out of the blue” and disconnected from existing digital strategy, suggesting it was more about riding the AI buzzword than delivering results.
By October 2025, Digital Isle of Man was tasked with scoping the new office. The previously promised National AI Strategy was folded into the remit of the office, effectively abandoned as a standalone project. The timeline was set: have the office “up and running in some form” by January 2026.
Government Late to the Party
While ministers trumpet each new AI office as groundbreaking, the reality is that businesses on the Island are already using AI to boost productivity and competitiveness. From finance to media to logistics, private firms have adopted AI tools without waiting for government‑run training schemes or strategy papers.
Instead of supporting that momentum with direct investment, the Government has spent three years spending taxpayers money on itself — carving up the original £5m allocation into internal offices, civil service roles, and policy documents.
The result? Industry moves ahead, government plays catch‑up, and taxpayers foot the bill for bureaucracy to rebrand itself as “innovation.”
The Pattern
- £5m approved in 2024: training schemes like LearnAI.im, recruitment, international MOUs.
- 2025 regulatory office announced: disconnected from existing digital strategy, criticised as opportunistic.
- October 2025 scoping work: Digital Isle of Man folds the National AI Strategy into the new office remit.
- £1m in 2026: carved out of the same £5m, rebranded as the National AI Office.
- Jobs at risk, but no clarity: Ministers admit they cannot say who will lose out.
- Industry sidelined: Despite repeated talk of “collaboration,” the money flows back into government structures.
- Buzzwords over substance: GDP targets, “international excellence,” and “efficiency savings” — but no clear outcomes.
- Late to the party: Businesses are already deploying AI, while government lags behind with recycled announcements.
Three years, three offices, millions allocated — Businesses are already using AI, while government lags behind, recycling funds into its own structures. The Isle of Man’s AI “revolution” increasingly looks like a vanity project: late to the party, funding itself, and spinning efficiency promises while taxpayers pay the tab.
