February 17, 2020

The Committee on Standards in Public Life has published its report and recommendations to the Prime Minister to ensure that high standards of conduct are upheld as technologically assisted decision-making is adopted more widely across the public sector. The Committee also published new polling on public attitudes to AI.

Jonathan Evans, Chair of the Committee on Standards in Public Life said: “Honesty, integrity, objectivity, openness, leadership, selflessness and accountability” are “the standards expected of all those who act on the public’s behalf.”

Further, Mr Evans said: “Artificial intelligence – and in particular, machine learning – will transform the way public sector organisations make decisions and deliver public services. Demonstrating high standards will help realise the huge potential benefits of AI in public service delivery. However, it is clear that the public need greater reassurance about the use of AI in the public sector.”

Mr Evans also said that public sector organisations are “not sufficiently transparent about their use of AI” and “it is too difficult to find out where machine learning is currently being used in government”.

In Mr Evans’s view: “Explanations for decisions made by machine learning are important for public accountability. Explainable AI is a realistic and attainable goal for the public sector – so long as public sector organisations and private companies prioritise public standards when they are designing and building AI systems.”

The report also shows that data bias remains a serious concern. The Committee says that further work is needed on measuring and mitigating the impact of bias to prevent discrimination via algorithm in public services.

The main message from the report to the Government is that “the UK’s regulatory and governance framework for AI in the public sector remains a work in progress and deficiencies are notable”. In particular, as far as transparency and data bias are concerned, “there is an urgent need for practical guidance and enforceable regulation”.

The Committee concludes that the UK does not need a new AI regulator. However, Mr Evans said, “all regulators must adapt to the challenges that AI poses to their specific sectors”. The Committee endorses the Government’s intentions to establish CDEI as an independent, statutory body that will advise government and regulators in this area.

Mr Evans also said: “All public bodies using AI to deliver frontline services must comply with the law surrounding data-driven technology and implement clear, risk-based governance for their use of AI. Government should use its purchasing power in the market to set procurement requirements that ensure that private companies developing AI solutions for the public sector appropriately address public standards.”

Finally, Mr Evans said that the Government and regulators need to “act swiftly to keep up with the pace of innovation”. He concluded by saying that “by ensuring that AI is subject to appropriate safeguards and regulations, the public can have confidence that new technologies will be used in a way that upholds the Seven Principles of Public Life as the public sector transitions into a new AI-enabled age”. To access the report, click here.