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Thank you very much, minister.

I begin again by asking what the instrument will mean in practical terms. My understanding is that it will essentially enable devolved bodies to use UK-wide procurement frameworks. Are there practical examples in which either that has happened or the Scottish Government or its agencies intend to use the provisions? Can you outline some examples?

Michelle Thomson would like to follow up on that.

This has been a really incredible session. There have been a lot of very interesting answers. I am also intrigued to figure out which time zones you are in: the sun has been setting for Dex and has been rising for Kayla-Megan, and that has been interesting to watch. There are some very interesting things that we will definitely want to follow up on, so thank you very much for your time—I was about to say this morning, but this evening or this morning, whichever is applicable to you.

First, as somebody who graduated with a degree in philosophy 26 years ago, I say thank you very much to Kayla-Megan Burns for validating my educational choices.

I will ask Dex Hunter-Torricke a brief supplementary question. I am interested in the notion that AI tips economies of scale on their head. How far do you take the points that you set out? In 20 years’ time, to what extent will organisations be just one person configuring AI tools around them? How far will that go? I absolutely accept that you will see businesses like that, but will all businesses be like that? What will a sensible organisation look like in size and—more critically—in configuration? Will that be about how well you specify things? If we take the coding example, to get good code out of the AI, you still need to give it the right specification. Is that what the core function of an organisation will be? How far will this go? What will the functions be at the heart of organisations that seek to use AI?

I have one final question. Steve Aitken, you said something quite interesting about trust. The reason why it is particularly interesting to me is that it aligned with something that I encountered recently. It also relates to things that Leo Fakhrul was saying.

I was in Singapore, and I met Enterprise Singapore there. It is always interesting, and I like looking at different Governments and their policies and their agencies. However, all too often they come up with the same stuff, and, as sure as eggs is eggs, there were a lot of things that I recognised. The people I met name-checked life sciences, they name-checked space and they name-checked AI. Those are all their growth sectors. So far, so good—you could replicate those anywhere else and, indeed, they were slightly surprised that Scotland was focusing on the same things, too; they had not realised it. What was interesting was that one of their domains for growth was the trust economy, and that replaced two things: financial services and what we would probably normally put as tech. I thought that that was quite interesting, because it was identifying something that is more essential. Rather than how you are doing things, it is what the underlying point is.

You are right. I think that there are some elements there about Scotland and trust. What are the things that you think make Scotland a place that can focus on trust and how could we build a trust economy in Scotland? What might that look like if we wanted to outcompete Singapore on that?

Good morning, and welcome to the 32nd meeting in 2025 of the Economy and Fair Work Committee.

This morning, we will be considering two Scottish statutory instruments before taking further evidence as part of our work on artificial intelligence. To begin, I note apologies from Sarah Boyack, Lorna Slater and Stephen Kerr.

I welcome Ivan McKee, Minister for Public Finance, and—online—I welcome Alasdair Hamilton, procurement policy portfolio manager, and Jess Gray, lawyer, from the Scottish Government. They will present on the SSI, and I invite Ivan McKee to make a short opening statement.

As members have no questions, we will move on to agenda item 4, which is formal consideration of the SSI. I remind members that only members and the minister may take part in this section. I invite the minister to speak to and move motion S6M-19428.

Motion moved,

That the Economy and Fair Work Committee recommends that the Cross-Border Public Procurement (Miscellaneous Amendment) (Scotland) Regulations 2025 [draft] be approved.—[Ivan McKee]

Motion agreed to.

Thank you. The deputy convener would like to ask a brief supplementary.

Welcome back for our second panel of witnesses for our short inquiry into artificial intelligence. I am very pleased that we are joined by Steve Aitken, the founder of Intelligent Plant Ltd, and Leo Fakhrul, chief executive officer of XYNQ and Mamba Sounds. Unfortunately, Rich Wilson is not with us. I note on the record that he had a small accident this morning. I am sure that all members of the committee join me in wishing him a speedy recovery.

We have just over an hour, so I would appreciate concise questions and, if possible—although this is an expansive topic—concise responses. I will hand over straight away to my deputy convener, Michelle Thomson.

A short report will be prepared and published, and I invite the committee to delegate report clearance to me as convener. Is that acceptable to the committee?

Members indicated agreement.