In response to the news that OpenAI and the UK Government have signed an agreement to use AI to boost productivity across public services, the University of Salford’s AI expert, Dr Gordon Fletcher, has shared his thoughts on the broader implications – from smarter service delivery and reduced bureaucracy to the challenge of ethical, transparent use of public data.
Dr Gordon Fletcher, AI expert and Associate Dean: Research and Innovation at the University of Salford, said: “The ‘correct’ way to use a computer in government sees the public provide minimal data to the system. That system then offers up a variety of responses to help meet the many different, complex and individual needs of the public, while keeping the reporting back to government as simple as possible. This was Stafford Beer's observation from 50 years ago - long before AI (artificial intelligence), the web or personal computers. The agreement between OpenAI and the UK Government to improve public service productivity hints at finally realising this dream from half a century ago.
“By focusing on productivity, there is an opportunity to create new ways of working that deliver the services most needed in the places of greatest need, reduce the complexity and red tape of processes developed before the typewriter, and enable highly skilled public servants to focus on the difficult one-in-a-million situations that AI might struggle to address. Efficiencies and reducing the cost of government would be a highly desirable consequence of this focus. AI also offers the chance for government to make decision and act on data that reflects the current situation - not a snapshot drawn from three-month-old information.
“The challenge now is the same as the one identified 50 years ago: can this potential unlocking of capacity and service improvement really be done transparently and ethically, with minimal data drawn from the public?”