Commitments made by government in response to AI Action Plan include DSIT offering ‘rapid prototyping capability’ and developing new guidance for departments in deciding whether to buy or develop tech
Prime minister Keir Starmer has pledged to put the full force of the state behind artificial intelligence, with all government departments tasked with driving adoption in their sector as a top priority.
Today marks the publication of the AI Opportunities Action plan, a report commissioned by the incoming Labour government shortly after the election, and compiled by tech entrepreneur Matt Clifford. The document sets out 50 recommendations to use AI to fuel economic growth, while boosting adoption of the technology and delivering better public services. All 50 of these have been formally endorsed by government.
A dozen of the recommendations concern a proposed ‘Scan > Pilot > Scale’ approach to the use of AI by government departments.
Imminent measures that ministers have pledged to undertake include the appointment of a dedicated lead to seek out potential roles for AI in each of Labour’s five ‘missions’.
The new ‘Digital Centre of Government’ housed within the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology will “build a cross-government technical horizon scanning and market intelligence capability”, while also offering a “rapid prototyping capability”. This latter development is slated to launch alongside the formal unveiling and official branding of the digital centre, which is expected in the early weeks of 2025. This facility – which will include the current Government Digital Service and Central Digital and Data Office, which were last year moved to DSIT from Cabinet Office – will “commit to interoperable, reusable, and open source code whenever appropriate”, the government indicated.
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DSIT will guidance intended to guide departments in “whether to build in-house, buy or run innovation challenges” to support AI deployments, and will implement “partnerships with AI vendors and startups to anticipate future AI developments and signal public sector demand”.
The tech department will be tasked with delivering more work to bring external AI experts into the civil service, as well as exploring how to improve procurement – with new generic processes, and “mission-focused national tenders” – and the potential “development of a scaling service that takes successful pilots and drives wide implementation” across government.
Digital experts will also examine possible “streamlined approaches to accessing data sets, access to language models and necessary infrastructure like compute” .
One of the final commitments for public sector AI set out in the government’s response to the Action Plan is that: “DSIT will learn from other countries, such as Singapore’s GovTech, to explore options for building on GDS and i.AI’s tech stack.”
Following the publication of the plan and the government’s endorsement, “the prime minister has personally written to his entire cabinet, tasking them with driving AI adoption and growth in their sectors, and making that a top priority for their departments”, according to Downing Street.
The intention of “throwing the full weight of Whitehall behind this industry” represents a “a marked move from the previous government approach”, Number 10 claimed.
“Artificial intelligence will drive incredible change in our country,” Starmer added. “From teachers personalising lessons, to supporting small businesses with their record-keeping, to speeding up planning applications, it has the potential to transform the lives of working people. But the AI industry needs a government that is on their side, one that won’t sit back and let opportunities slip through its fingers. And in a world of fierce competition, we cannot stand by. We must move fast and take action to win the global race. Our plan will make Britain the world leader. It will give the industry the foundation it needs and will turbocharge the Plan for Change. That means more jobs and investment in the UK, more money in people’s pockets, and transformed public services. That’s the change this government is delivering.”
The major commitment to supporting AI across public services and the economy comes less than a month after the publication of an annual government study of 5,000 respondents found that “despite universal awareness of artificial intelligence, public perceptions are dominated by concerns”.