Location is the obvious way to connect data: I spoke to Ordnance Survey CEO Nick Bolton on the challenges of turning a 225-year-old institution into an
AI powerhouse

Date:
Sat, 22 Aug 2026 12:00:00 +0000

Description:
As it celebrates its 225th birthday, the Ordnance Survey is becoming an AI superpower.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter Originally established as an
arm of the British military in 1791, the Ordnance Survey (OS) is one of the countrys most venerable institutions, with its orange-backed fold-out maps an integral part of family camping trips for many.

But as smartphones and satellites have increasingly encroached on the OS traditional areas, the company has been hard at work establishing itself as a vital part of national infrastructure - one that could have ramifications for years to come. This of course, entails greater interaction of AI, so I spoke to the Ordnance Survey to find out just what this transformation looks like. Latest Videos From TechRadar Watch full video here: AI automation This has been a technology business since day dot, Nick Bolton, CEO at the Ordnance Survey, tells us, harking back to the early surveying days of theodolites and chains, where tools were constantly improved in order to out-do European competitors, its always been technology that has enabled a better map.

Bolton points out that the OS has long been focused on using computer technology to improve its process, starting the transformation in the 1970s with plotter and digitiser tools to scan paper maps - which then had to be printed in more advanced ways than ever before. You may like Google Cloud VP explains why everyone from big businesses to start-ups can benefit from the
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The modern version of the OS is far more technical, and Bolton, whose background was in computer vision, highlights that the organization has been using AI technology for over a decade.

This began with implementing automatic feature extraction from aerial images, as the OS scans the whole of the nation every three years - the type of high-resolution image data, Bolton notes, that is ideal to train a neural network on. Are you a pro? Subscribe to our newsletter Sign up to the TechRadar Pro newsletter to get all the top news, opinion, features and guidance your business needs to succeed! Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners
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Were at the high end of the market, he notes, everyone thinks AI is
associated with large language models and transformer networks - actually, we all know that AI has been around for a hell of a lot longer than that.

We see AI in the bracket of automation - more than a human replacement,
Bolton adds, noting that with Gen AI, having natural language conversations
is another obvious area we can apply AI to. Paper OS maps are a popular
choice for walkers and hikers across the UK (Image credit: Getty Images) Agentic AI is a major interest of the OS going forward, as it looks to offer its huge cache of knowledge and data to partners, both in the public and private sector. What to read next Samsara CEO Sanjit Biswas lays out why the future of operations is AI AI needs rules and rails: Why governance must move beyond policy The question is no longer how much AI can produce, but how much of that output is genuinely usable: How we use and pay for AI is undergoing a major shift

Weve been getting questions about that for a very long time, Bolton notes, we really have to make sure that whenever we do anything with AI, we have to think of the things that have made us great us in the past - being authoritative, being assured, and being trustworthy - none of those things
can go away in the AI age, in the same way that they were there in 1791.

Bolton notes that secure access is another crucial consideration, and points to the OSs AI Charter as a demonstration of how important this is to the organization. But AI usage is still gradual, he says, noting it is an organic process, pointing to the importance of trusting the decision made using OS data in situations such as warning against building new houses on a flood plain - there needs to be assurance that this decision can be traced back to concrete data.

That theres always going to require some form of human check on it, until
such a time that we can feel confidence in the output, Bolton says, making sure we go slowly, preserving that this decision or that insight can be
traced back to this set of data means therefore I can have a high confidence in itit all requires a change in the way we think about how we produce our data and how we attribute our data. "Everything happens somewhere" The OS
data is being used in a huge range of use cases - with government agencies featuring alongside utility networks and construction firms.

Bolton notes that the OS goal is to try and facilitate as many answers as possible, highlighting that, location is the obvious way to connect all data.

The term we use internally is that everything happens somewhere, Bolton
notes, location data matters in a wide variety of situations.

What we really have here is a general purpose technology, a bit like the semiconductor or the pneumatic tyre, it has such a wide variety of applications, we cant be expected to own the whole of the stack, our task should be to stick to our mission, make the best data, and then work with others to incorporate that data into many other solutions.

Geographical and location insights are widely applicableits universal, Bolton adds, "everyone has got where? questionsgeography, location and engineering play to the sensibilities of Britons.

The great news is that from a GB perspective, weve got a tremendous resource in the Ordnance Survey from a data perspective, and weve got a real software capability in this country from vendors who understand that domain.

In that ecosystem, where youve got lots of people with lots of different
types of where? questions, were not going to serve all of those, but rather work with a series of partners, and the good news is thats a world weve been building for a long time. Ordnance Survey imagery can help developers and homebuyers alike spot potential risks (Image credit: Ordnance Survey) Bolton gives the example of a homebuyer and a mortgage provider - the former will want to check OS data to make sure there isnt a radio mast being built in their back garden, but the latter will want to ensure there are no issues around flooding or other hazards, so they can ensure they get a good return.

Its ownership by the UK government also means the OS works with national bodies, particularly with the Office for National Statistics and HM Land Registry, as well as the intriguingly-named National Underground Asset Register (NUAR), which monitors the UKs network of underground pipes, cables and other sub-surface infrastructure.

Bolton notes that the built environment as a whole is already a mixture of focus from the public and private sector, highlighting how, place by its nature, is a collaboration between private and public.

This means that along with offering data to the likes of Santander and Sainsburys, and advising solar panel installation companies on which houses might be a good option for future rollouts, the OS has also been working alongside the Met Office to form the Governments response to the recent wildfires, blending the formers weather data with OS map information about
the location of wooded areas which may be further fuel, or spot any critical infrastructure such as electricity substations which may be at risk. "Special insights" The OS has changed so much since its 18th Century beginnings, but
as Bolton notes, it is still dedicated to democratising access to its special insights - albeit now changed from warfare, towards national infrastructure.

"If you look at our organisation, we look like a technology company, Bolton notes, but we didnt always look like that - and thats always the journey that you have to go on.

Answering the need for such varied use cases will involve greater working
with partners, but as Bolton says, the OS seal of approval will also look to provide data that is trusted and authoritative.

Were always seeking an ever increasingly efficient factory, he adds, highlighting the split between AI product and AI productivity, how do make sure we can bring the efficiency gains, and weve always done that, and achieved more, in order to not scale back what we do, but to scale up our ambition, and go and do more.

I dont think that will ever change, in the same way that we provide wonderful guidebooks alongside maps, and a mobile app. Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds.



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