Deputy prime minister Oliver Dowden has unveiled plans to assemble a team to set about tackling inefficiencies within the Civil Service using artificial intelligence.
Describing AI as the “closest thing you have to a silver bullet in terms of driving efficiency for the taxpayer,” Dowden suggested the move could ultimately see the Civil Service reduced in size.
“This is about trying to get a hit squad,” he said.
“A sort of crack squad that is going to go out there and bring a high level of expertise to try and identify innovative solutions to projects.”
Under the plan, a team of around 30 AI experts will be put to work with a budget of £5 million annually to look at ways to improve efficiency within the public sector.
This will be put to work on processes of dealing with welfare fraud, asylum claims and issues within the NHS and education sector, according to Dowden.
Addressing concerns that AI models can display their own prejudices and inaccuracies, Dowden added the technology would be used as a “co-pilot” to complement ”human decision-making processes”.