'Prioritise data privacy' - CIPR #AIinPR Panel responds to AI and Public Standards Review
The CIPR's Artificial Intelligence (#AIinPR) Panel has called on government to prioritise data privacy, claiming it is vital that the public are made aware of how their data can be used to power AI-enabled services.
In a written response to the Committee on Standards in Public Life's AI and Public Standards Review, the panel urged government to adopt a best practice approach to data privacy by ensuring all public sector contracts were only awarded to businesses that meet public standards on data and artificial intelligence
The Panel believes these standards must cover:
- Trust
- Transparency
- Ethics
- Fairness
- Accountability
- Leadership
The report states:
As the private sector is likely to be involved in the provision and delivery of public services where data and artificial intelligence is incorporated, the CIPR AIinPR panel strongly recommends the UK Government’s Artificial Intelligence and Public Standards applies to all private organisations/services and individuals providing data and/or AI consultancy, actual technologies, all or in part, and deployment.
We recommend the UK Government goes further and ask for a firm commitment that as part of all UK Government/public agency contracts awarded to provide data and artificial intelligence consultancy, technology solutions and deployment programmes - all private individuals, companies and groups must sign the Public Standards on Data and Artificial Intelligence as part of the conditions for legal contracts. This will provide the public with the assurances they rightly require on ethical use and decisions being made on their data and service provision.
This will also help support the upholding of trust by the public that UK Government Public Services are acting in the public interest and not causing any untoward harm to individuals, groups or society as a whole by not including the private sector in the UK Public Standards on Artificial Intelligence.
About the #AIinPR Panel
The CIPR's Artificial Intelligence (#AIinPR) Panel was founded in February 2018 to explore the impact of artificial intelligence on public relations and the wider business community. The Panel has established an international reputation as a centre of excellence for promoting knowledge and understanding of AI. The Panel's flagship research project in 2018 Humans Still Needed predicted the impact of artificial intelligence on PR and its findings have been presented at events across the world.
About the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR)
The CIPR is the Royal Chartered professional body for public relations practitioners in the UK and overseas. The CIPR is the largest membership organisation for PR practitioners outside of North America. By size of turnover and number of individually registered members, we are the leading representative body for the PR profession and industry in Europe.
The CIPR advances professionalism in public relations by making its members accountable to their employers and the public through a code of conduct and searchable public register, setting standards through training, qualifications, awards and the production of best practice and skills guidance, facilitating Continuing Professional Development (CPD), and awarding Chartered Public Relations Practitioner status (Chart.PR).