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Artificial Intelligence could save UK public services – fact or fiction?

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Artificial Intelligence could save UK public services – fact or fiction?

In October 2023, I wrote an opinion piece extolling the virtues of Generation AI for the Higher Education sector: Generative AI is changing the game in higher education | Computer Weekly – so as this article suggests, I am as excited as any digital professional about the potential of the AI ​​revolution.

I am interested in reading it in July 2024 Governing in the Age of Artificial Intelligence: A New Model for Transforming the State, Tony Blair Institute report on artificial intelligence.

TBI stated that they found: Artificial intelligence could save the government £200bn over five years. In a joint foreword to the report, Tony Blair and faculty CEO Marc Warner wrote: Artificial intelligence “We must make today the most exciting and creative time to manage.”

They continue like this:

“We both see the potential reward for the UK, which must have its own ambitions to position itself at the forefront of AI and provide leadership in governance in this new era. When we both examine the operations of governments from our different perspectives, we see the same opportunity: Almost everywhere, AI can help us reimagine government.

“The prospect may seem daunting, but investing in AI is often low-risk, high-return. As this article shows, the benefits far outweigh the costs, and the cost of inaction can be even higher.”

As a public sector technologist with over 20 years of experience across a range of areas of the public sector, I was immediately excited by the prospect of better, more efficient public services in the UK that could be turned around using AI.

But over the years, for reasons I will share with you shortly, I have become a bit skeptical about the pace of adoption and how this revolution will be achieved universally across the UK public sector.

This is not just my opinion. I was recently speaking at a conference for digital professionals in the Southeast. I did a non-scientific poll showing the above quoted explanation of TBI and 95% of those there disagreed with that statement. We went on to discuss some of the reasons why the AI ​​revolution is a slower burn in the public sector, which I will share with you below.

What will stop the AI ​​revolution from accelerating in the UK public sector?

First and foremost is money! We are a public sector in deep financial crisis for reasons we all know. Although the new government is ambitious and wants to rebuild the public sector with more investment, it has many demands on taxpayer revenues and there is no ‘magic money tree’ as the previous prime minister said.

So we can all see that money needs to be put into the NHS, schools and social care, and technology spending is likely to be further down the list of priorities for individual public sector organisations.

When technology funds are allocated, the priorities for that spending are likely to be to fix technology debt, replace key legacy systems, and contain the growing cybersecurity threat.

If a public sector organization, such as a large national government department, has the funds to invest in AI at scale, there are other hurdles and challenges they must overcome:

  1. Data Privacy and Security: Concerns about data protection, particularly around regulations such as GDPR, can hinder the data sharing and use necessary for effective AI systems.
  2. Data Quality: Quality data is essential to the predictive nature of many AI systems, including the increasing use of AI assistants; data inconsistency, outdated data, data integrity, and data inconsistency are just some of the problems with data in legacy systems and websites. public sector organisations.
  3. Lack of Skills and Expertise: There is often a shortage of personnel with the technical skills required to develop, implement and maintain AI systems.
  4. Infrastructure Limitations: Many public sector organizations may not have the necessary technological infrastructure to support AI solutions, including hardware and software.
  5. Resistance to Change: Cultural resistance within organizations can slow the adoption of AI technologies, as employees may be wary of how AI will impact their roles; Every day there are articles about how many jobs will be lost due to artificial intelligence. – Up to 8 million jobs in the UK are at risk from AI unless the government takes action, according to IPPR | FMPR
  6. Integration with Legacy Systems: Many public sector organizations still rely on legacy systems, making it difficult to integrate new AI technologies.
  7. Public Trust: Gaining public trust in the role of AI in government services is crucial, especially in sensitive areas such as healthcare and law enforcement.

It’s not all doom and gloom

While the potential for AI to transform the UK public sector is of course huge, a number of barriers and challenges need to be addressed to unlock its full capabilities, as I have hopefully demonstrated.

Public sector organizations can begin to address these barriers by prioritizing data management, investing in skills development, modernizing infrastructure and fostering a culture of ethical innovation.

Only through concerted efforts can AI become the game-changing force it has the potential to be, ultimately improving the quality of public services and improving outcomes for citizens across the UK.

Also read: CIO interview: Sean Green, University of East Anglia

Sean Green is interim CIO at Birkbeck, University of London

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