The Alan Turing Institute has developed a package of resources to help the public sector manage the ethics of deploying AI technologies.
It has published the first four of eight workbooks under its AI Ethics and Governance in Practice Programme, is preparing to publish the next four and has said it will launch a digital platform to give public relevant servants tools, training and support.
Professor David Leslie, director of ethics and responsible innovation research at the Alan Turing Institute, outlined the initiative in a blogpost, saying this follows on from the publication in 2019 of the Government’s guidance on understanding AI ethics and safety.
He said that while the guidance is now widely used, the new programme provides a framework for public sector teams to integrate ethical values and practical principles into their innovation practices.
The workbooks have been developed by Turing ethics researchers with the assistance of public sector bodies, supported by funding from the Office for AI and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council.
Activities, principles, mechanisms
They include activities based on a process based governance (PBG) framework, with an emphasis on SSAFE-D Principles – sustainability, safety, accountability, fairness, explainability and data stewardship. It outlines mechanisms such as stakeholder impact assessments, bias self-assessment, risk management tools and data factsheets.
The first four workbooks cover: an introduction to AI ethics and practice; foundations for sustainable projects; sustainability through the workflow; and AI fairness in practice.
“Creating responsible and trustworthy public sector AI futures is crucial for realising the immense potential of AI technologies to serve the public interest and to advance the common good,” Leslie said.
“At a time when the development of advanced AI technologies could play a critical role in helping governments tackle difficult global problems like climate change, biodiversity loss, and biomedical and public health challenges, it is essential to have in place governance protocols and training regimes that lay the foundations for a culture of responsible AI innovation.
“The Turing’s new AI ethics programme is a small step in this challenging process.”
