UK Government Urged to Embrace AI and Risk-Taking for Public Sector Innovation

UK govt must learn fast and let failing projects die young

Tackle longstanding issues around productivity, cyber resilience and public sector culture, advises spending watchdog The UK's government spending watchdog has called on the current administration to make better use of technology to kickstart the misfiring economy and ensure better delivery public services amid tightened budgets. In a speech before Parliament, the head of the National Audit Office, Gareth Davies, will set out "fundamentals" for effective design to help solve the problems of productivity, and to beef up resilience against short- and long-term cyber threats. He expects these issues to feature heavily in the next five-year spending review, scheduled for June. Davies, technically the comptroller and auditor general, is expected to say today that since the 2008 financial crisis, the UK has seen lower productivity growth across the whole economy than in the decades before, exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic. While productivity has struggled to improve, demand for services continues to grow, he is to point out. "Take one example of acute hospital productivity. Figures from NHS England in May last year showed it was still 8 percent lower in 2023/24 than before the pandemic, and much work is under way to address this. Meanwhile, demand for services continues to grow, and not just in the NHS. Focusing on productivity across the entirety of public services is therefore essential." Davies expects AI to be be part of the solution, as it has the "clear potential for reducing the time taken for routine tasks, augmenting the work of skilled experts and making public services easier to use. "The question is not whether AI will make a difference to productivity but how to maximize the benefits whilst managing the risk," he is expected to say. The UK government recently announced a plan for adopting AI across government, including Humphrey, an AI toolset which promises several products that are ready to roll out. For example, the "Consult" tool is intended to help analyze responses to government consultation, reducing the time taken. "We've started seeing relatively straightforward applications of AI in government. These are the foothills of a huge coming change in the design of government services and administration. Good governance will be needed to manage the risks accompanying AI, to ensure fair treatment of service users and citizens and maintain public trust. "But the immense opportunities for greater productivity, and more user-friendly services, mean that these are risks to be managed, not avoided," Davies is set to say. Also on his list of improvements is system reform, investing in skills and "maintaining assets to support productive service delivery." The last point involves being better equiped to tackle "increasingly likely events, whether that's pandemics, extreme weather or cyber attacks. "All this evidence points to the same thing: we need to be better prepared nationally and locally; to have sound risk management in place; and to be ready to adapt to new information and events quickly and effectively." Multiple councils and areas of the NHS were targeted by cyber baddies in the past year, and criminals breaking into systems is now almost a monthly occurrence. Davies is expected to tell Parliament not to fear getting things wrong but to learn from past mistakes. "Another feature of successful innovators is their ability to learn quickly what works and what doesn't, so that failed experiments can be stopped promptly and the resources redirected to more promising ideas. Being open about this can be challenging for government, with its ingrained worry that any failed project represents poor value for money." Reg readers will be only too aware of the many failed tech projects that have dogged successive governments in the past couple of decades, as well as the eye-watering costs involved. In a separate recent report, the NAO pointed out that those in charge of tech procurement within central government lacked an understanding of technology and a commercial grip on suppliers. "Current government processes from business case development to contract award do not work well for digital programs. Departments can present investment cases without a detailed assessment of technical feasibility, for which there is no detailed central government guidance," it said. ®

UK public sector must embrace risk-taking and harness AI, says watchdog

The UK's public sector should embrace risk-taking and introduce a higher tolerance for failure in order to harness the benefits of artificial intelligence, the auditor general will say on Tuesday. National Audit Office head Gareth Davies will urge mandarins to embrace experimentation and a "fast-learning" culture in order to maximise the benefits of emerging technologies for Britain's public services. "When the technical solutions we need to tackle big problems such as climate change are not yet fully developed or implemented, a portfolio approach to investing in research and development becomes essential," he will say. "This allows a risk appetite to be set for investment, recognising that not every new idea will bear fruit." Davies, whose official title is Comptroller & Auditor General, will stress that AI presents "risks to be managed, not avoided", and will encourage civil servants to learn from the tech sector. "[A] feature of successful innovators is their ability to learn quickly what works and what doesn't, so that failed experiments can be stopped promptly and the resources redirected to more promising ideas," he will say. As the independent Whitehall spending watchdog, the NAO is responsible for highlighting waste, delays and overspend by the government -- and often delivers stinging criticism of departments over projects that represent poor value for money. But in an annual address to parliament this week, Davies will unveil plans for the watchdog to make greater allowances for trials of new technology by officials that misfire. As part of a refreshed strategy for the coming five years, the NAO will also proactively praise positive examples of innovation, including instances where failing initiatives have been dropped in favour of more auspicious ones. Davies' intervention comes a week after ministers unveiled a suite of new AI tools designed to make the government run faster for less cash, including a programme called Consult to assist state consultations, and programmes called Lex and Parlex, which aim to help policymakers and researchers explore legislation. In his speech, Davies will acknowledge that people working inside government often have an "ingrained worry that any failed project represents poor value for money". Civil servants must be rewarded for well-managed risk-taking, rather than fearing criticism from the NAO or Parliament if their projects go wrong, he will say, adding that some critics had said the watchdog's scrutiny could act to "stifle innovation". Davies will also warn the state must prioritise driving productivity gains across all public services, highlighting that productivity growth across the whole economy has been lower since 2008 than in the decades beforehand. While AI has the potential to speed up routine tasks and build on the work of skilled experts, he will declare the government must also do more to tackle the causes of avoidable demand, plus invest in people and skills. Warning about the potential for wasted expenditure when the state is blindsided by "increasingly likely events", he will call for improved resilience, urging the government to be "better prepared nationally and locally" for shocks such as pandemics, extreme weather and cyber attacks.