Several factors are creating barriers to government’s adoption of AI, according to a new report from Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC).
Titled Use of AI in Government, the report has come weeks after the prime minister made a priority of developing new AI solutions in public services and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) made it a central feature of the new Blueprint for Modern Digital Government.
It acknowledges the potential for the technology to radically improve public services but says there are significant challenges in realising the potential.
These include out-of-date legacy systems that are not compatible with AI, with an estimated 28%in central government being defined as ‘end-of-life product’, poor quality data and problems in data sharing.
There has also been slow progress in embedding transparency into AI initiatives, with too few departments reporting on when their decision making is supported by algorithms, and only a handful of records having been published on the GOV.UK transparency record. This is jeopardising public trust in the use of the technology, the PAC says.
Skills gap
A shortage of the necessary skills in government is also causing concern, with the committee being sceptical as to whether reforms planned by DSIT will be effective in tackling the skills gap.
It adds that government has a long way to go to ensure a thriving market for AI suppliers, with the prospect of dominance by a small number of large companies that would stifle competition and innovation. These concerns are intensified by current approaches to procurement that risk over-reliance on the services of specific companies and an inability to adapt.
On DSIT’s role in holding responsibility for wider AI policy, while the PAC welcomes the recent creation of a new ‘digital centre of government’ in the department, it has serious concerns over whether this comes with sufficient leverage to drive change across the public sector.
In response, the report calls for a senior digital officer to be embedded at the top table with senior management at every department, on the boards at each department and their respective agencies.
Other recommendations include:
- DSIT prioritising and ensuring funding for the remediation of the highest risk legacy technology;
- strengthening the spending controls for high risk use cases of AI to support their safe and ethical roll out;
- setting up a mechanism for gathering and disseminating intelligence on pilot projects;
- and setting out how to identify common and scalable AI products and support their development and roll out.
Potential for improvements
Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, chair of the PAC, said: “The potential for AI to secure widespread efficiencies is obvious, and the need for digital improvements is a theme that will run through all our inquiries as through a stick of rock.
“The AI industry needs a government that is on its side, while making sure that any opportunities for improvement are seized in a safe and ethical way. Transparency is key here, as public trust that AI will work for them is central to any successful use of it. We still have a long way to go in this area.
“The Government has said it wants to mainline AI into the veins of the nation, but our report raises questions over whether the public sector is ready for such a procedure. The ambition to harness the potential of one of the most significant technological developments of modern times is of course to be welcomed.
“Unfortunately, those familiar with our committee’s past scrutiny of the Government’s frankly sclerotic digital architecture will know that any promises of sudden transformation are for the birds.
“A transformation of thinking in government at senior levels is required, and the best way for this to happen is for digital professionals to be brought round the top table in management and governing boards of every department and their agencies. I have serious concerns that DSIT does not have the authority over the rest of government to bring about the scale and pace of change that’s needed.”
