Didn’t get that job? It might be down to A.I.

ARTIFICIAL intelligence is increasingly being used by government bodies to run their services – but we often have no idea, a report has found.

The Committee on Standards in Public Life said there needed to be much greater transparency around when AI is used by town halls and Whitehall bodies.

Artificial intelligence and machine learning are seen as key technologies for the future, and could be used to help with decision-making in areas such as healthcare, policing, education and social care.

Examples include looking at data to decide which schools to inspect, using computers to spot diseases, and screening CVs to ensure unqualified applicants do not get an interview – meaning candidates could miss out on a job because of AI. The report warned that the public needed greater reassurance on how AI will be used.

Committee chairman Lord Evans said: ‘Artificial intelligence, and in particular, machine learning, will transform the way public sector organisations make decisions and deliver public services.

‘Public sector organisations are not sufficiently transparent about their use of AI. Explanations for decisions made by machine learning are important for public accountability.

‘Explainable AI is a realistic and attainable goal for the public sector – so long as public sector organisations and private companies prioritise public standards when designing and building AI systems.’

The committee report recommends the Government and regulators establish a set of ethical principles for the use of AI.