AI will "revolutionise" public sector delivery, new report finds.
A new report published today reveals how the public sector can best “realise the great benefits of artificial intelligence in public service delivery” but calls on the sector to do more to reassure the public about its use.
The ‘Artificial Intelligence and Public Standards’ review by Lord Evans of Weardale for the Committee on Standards in Public Life finds that artificial intelligence has the potential to “revolutionise” the public sector – particularly on areas such as policing, health, welfare, transport, social care and education. However, it also warns of risks including on issues of bias and discrimination and calls on the government and public sector organisations to set effective governance to uphold high standards of conduct to mitigate against these.
This report reflects the work of the #AIinPR panel; that the clear and transformative benefits artificial intelligence can bring to the public sector, across a range of areas, will require the trust and confidence of the public. It points to a clear call for organisations to increase transparency and openness in articulating the use, and legal basis, of this technology. Public relations and communications professionals within the public sector should be at the heart of this effort.
As we saw with the example of facial recognition technology in London, there are still concerns surrounding the confidence the public have with how this technology is used in practice. This lack of transparency, highlighted in the report, will require both the public and private sectors to do more to prioritise public standards in the design, implementation and communications surrounding new technologies.
Find out more information on the work of CIPR's #AIinPR panel.
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