Council leaders need to provide ‘proper accountability’ for AI technology and staff cannot take a ‘computer says no’ approach, according to the chair of the Committee on Standards in Public Life.
Local authorities will need systems and processes to evaluate and identify issues in the performance of AI technology, said Lord Jonathan Evans in an article for The MJ (£) published on the same day as a new report from the committee on AI and public standards.
The review concluded the UK does not need a specific AI regulator, but that ‘all regulators must adapt to the challenges that AI poses to their specific sectors’.
It recommended that the Government should establish the Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation (CDEI) as a centre for regulatory assurance to assist regulators.
Local government is currently innovating with AI systems in education, welfare and social care, but obstacles to widespread and successful adoption remain significant, the review concluded.
In its recommendations to front-line providers, the review said all providers of public services should assess the potential impact of a proposed AI system on public standards at design stage and ensure it mitigates any risks identified.
