AI in the Public Sector: New Government Guidance

The continual increase of the use of AI in the public sector has prompted the UK government to publish a new guide entitled ‘Using artificial intelligence in the public sector'. Led by the Office for Artificial Intelligence (OAI) and the Government Digital Service (GDS), the initiative has also been contributed to by the public policy programme of the Alan Turing Institute.

The new guide explains how the 'significant' potential uses for public-sector AI  must be balanced with considerations of fairness, safety and ethics. It also states that many organisations within the public sector are already using AI successfully for a wide range of tasks, from the detection of fraud to answering of customer queries.

One of the most groundbreaking parts of the publication is written by Dr David Leslie, Ethics Fellow in the Turing’s public policy programme. This section, entitled ‘Understanding artificial intelligence ethics and safety’, is the most comprehensive, up-to-date guidance on this topic yet produced; it identifies the potential harm that can be caused by AI systems and proposes measures to counteract it.

Dr Leslie said, “There is no better or more important part of society to lead the charge in the UK’s pacesetting role as a global leader in responsible AI innovation than the public sector. Our talented and dedicated Civil Service colleagues will be able to do a tremendous amount of social good if they approach the design and implementation of AI systems by making the realisation of ethical purpose and the pursuit of responsible practices of discovery a first priority.

Brick Technology is implementing new AI systems for our clients and welcome the publication of the new guidance. To find out more about how AI could improve YOUR ecommerce business, get in touch with our team today.