Government is on the verge of a surge in the use of AI technologies, but needs a plan to tackle key barriers to realising its full potential, according to a new National Audit Office (NAO) report.
Titled Use of artificial intelligence in government, it has followed the UK Government beginning to work on a draft AI strategy for the public sector last year, and been published in advance of a target for government departments to have AI adoption plans in place by June.
It says that an NAO survey of government bodies found that 74 use cases of AI reportedly been deployed, 37% of respondents had deployed the technology, 37% had plans to do so, 21% had an AI strategy in place and 16% were working on one.
But 70% reported that a skills shortage was a barrier to adoption, and the report says that as yet there is no coherent plan for adoption throughout government. It is unclear whether the Cabinet Office of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) has ownership of the strategy, and the Central Digital and Data Office (CDDO) has to do more to bring together and build on what has been learned from the early deployments.
Changes required
The NAO identifies likely benefits in productivity savings, better services and obtaining new insights, but says achieving these will require changes in business processes and workforce changes. In addition, the gains will only be realised if the programme for AI adoption is supported by a realistic plan to deal with ageing IT systems, data quality and the skills gap.
Problems in the latter are already apparent, with government bodies noting difficulties in attracting and retaining staff with AI skills.
There are also concerns about risks of inaccurate outputs from AI, risks to privacy, data protection and cyber security.
In addition, the controls in place for spending on digital across government do not provide assurance that AI risks have been mitigated.
Among the report’s recommendations is that the Cabinet Office should develop an integrated and feasible delivery plan, identify metrics and monitoring arrangements and work with DSIT on new governance arrangements.
CDDO should work with government functions to review existing guidance, standards and assurance arrangements, and prioritise the roadmap for digital and data in government, addressing the issues on data quality and legacy IT infrastructure.
Opportunities for better outcomes
Head of the NAO Gareth Davies said: “AI offers government opportunities to transform public services and deliver better outcomes for the taxpayer.
“To deliver these improved outcomes government needs to make sure its overall programme for AI adoption tackles longstanding issues, including data quality and ageing IT, as well as builds in effective governance of the risks.
“Without prompt action to address barriers to making effective use of AI within public services, government will not secure the benefits it has identified.”
In response to the report, a Government spokesperson said: “As the deputy prime minister set out in his speech on AI for public good, artificial intelligence has the potential to revolutionise public services and boost productivity.
“We have invested over £3.5 billion in the technology in the last 10 years, and are currently more than doubling the ‘Incubator for AI’ team, recruiting the best of British talent to drive AI integration across the public sector.”
There are a number of initiatives in place, including the publication earlier this year of a framework for using generative AI in government, and the earlier publication of the Transforming for a Digital Future document.
In addition, DSIT and CDDO are working on an adoption strategy for AI in government, to be published later this year.
