UK Public Accounts Committee launches consultation on use of AI in government

The Committee will hear from senior officials at DSIT, the Central Digital and Data Office and the Cabinet Office, on subjects including:

• Departmental accountability on AI delivery, funding and implementation;
• Progress on strategy development and governance arrangements;
• Risks and opportunities of AI adoption in government;
• Data and skills issues in government.

The Committee's line of inquiry is set in the following context:

• the National Audit Office report on use of AI in the public sector - which we summarised here.
• the Committee’s 2023 digital transformation in government report “warned that government staffing cuts add to digital skills shortages and risk increased costs, with government estimating that it has under half the number of digital, data and technology professionals it requires.”
• the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee has also reported on the impact, regulation and governance of artificial intelligence (and which we wrote about here).

Calls for evidence are open until 3 May 2024.

If you would like to discuss how current or future regulations impact what you do with AI, please contact Tom Whittaker, Brian Wong, Lucy Pegler, David Varney, Martin Cook or any other member in our Technology team.