Public Sector Innovation Conference

13 March 2024

This year's Public Sector Innovation Conference was a deep dive into the early uses of AI inn Government. We had a new conference format with lots of quick-fire examples of early “lighthouse” projects including inputs from the AI Safety Institute, Cabinet Office, CDDO, NCSC and No.10. Conference Chair Mark Thompson has written up the day in the link below.

Background

Gen AI burst into the public consciousness on 30th November 2022 and already has 100 million regular monthly users.

Gen AI is already being used in small pockets internally within public sector organisations, and in a much more limited way to support direct citizen interactions. However, usage remains piecemeal, as its implementation seems to hang mainly on the knowledge and existing skills of CTOs across Government.

In May 2023 The independent Committee on Standards in Public Life argued that public sector organisations are not being sufficiently transparent about their use of AI and that it is too difficult to find out where machine learning is currently being used in government. More recently the EU Bloc has called for less restrictive thinking by Governments when regulating generative AI, and arguing that there was a far greater risk of such behaviour stifling innovation.

Most recently, in November 2023 the UK government held the first Global Safety Summit to bring together international governments, leading AI companies and civil society groups to consider the risks of AI, especially at the frontier of development.

Themes for the day

Session One - Is AI Innovation?

AI had already led to the creation of intelligent systems, algorithms, and applications that could automate processes, improve efficiency, and generate insights from vast amounts of data and solve complex problems. So much for digitization: but could AI have helped us to ‘digitalize’ – to genuinely transform - our public service delivery models, by rethinking them altogether? Were we being ambitious enough? We looked at the government’s policy, thought about the relationship between AI and Innovation, and looked at examples of AI already being used in the public sector.

Session Two - Ethics and AI in the Public Sector

After coffee, we considered Ethics and AI in the Public Sector. When the public sector used AI, serious ethical questions arose that prompted careful consideration. For example: fairness and bias; transparency and explainability; employment and social impact; and security and safety. The session considered these ethical questions and discussed how trust, fairness, and accountability could be built into the deployment of these technologies.

Finally, we looked at how the Public Sector Procurement rules could allow the Public Sector to engage with this new rapidly developing technology. Had the 2023 Procurement Act sufficiently laid the way forward to allow experimentation, risk taking, and procurement of services where the ultimate outcome, methodology, and delivery mechanism was uncertain?

Session Three - AI for good and bad

AAfter lunch, we broadened the discussion to the topic 'AI for good and bad'.

How did we strike the balance between AI being used for bad (e.g., lowering the barrier to entry for criminality, or for cyber attacks) and AI being used for good (e.g., allowing otherwise marginalized societies in the global South access to technologies, or advancements in health research)?

So far, the global narrative around AI had been largely a negative one, reinforcing how AI was being used for bad, and not exploring enough the positive opportunities that come from AI.

 
 

 

Speakers

  • Imeh Akpan

    Advisor Nesta’s Civic AI Observatory

  • Seb Barker

    COO, Beam (Kingston work)

  • Geoff Connell

    Director of Digital Services, Norfolk

  • Brigadier Stefan Crossfield

    CDO, Army

  • Dr. David Gerouville-Farrell

    AI Lead, FCDO

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  • Dr. Keith Grimes

    GP, Founder, and Principal Consultant

  • Yvonne Gallacher

    Digital Director, NAO

  • Sabby Gill

    CEO, DEXT

  • Jack Greenhalgh

    CTO, Skin Analytics

  • Andrew Grill

    The Actionable Futurist

  • Malcolm Harbour CBE

    Connected Places Catapult

  • Shelina Hargrove

    Head of Digital, MoJ

  • Harriett Harman

    Member of Parliament, UK

  • Oliver Ilott

    Director, AI Safety Institute

  • Clive Kelman

    Principle AI Tech, CDDO

  • Alex Kilcoyne

    Data Science Principal Adviser , Natural England

  • Dan Klein

    Head of AI and Data, Zuhlke

  • David Lawton

    Technical Director Informed Solutions

  • Maria Luciana Axente

    Head of AI Public Policy, PwC

  • Niamh McKenna

    CIO NHS Resolution

  • Professor Mark Thompson

    Professor in Digital Economy, University of Exeter Business School

  • Sarah Peña

    Head of Emerging Technology, Swindon Borough Council

  • Rebecca Rees

    Head of Public Procurement at Trowers & Hamlins

  • Tremaine Richard-Noel

    Head of Emerging Technology at Northampton General Hospital.

  • Himanshu Sahni

    AI/ML Specialist, AWS

  • Rikesh Shah

    CEO, IPEC

  • Ollie Whitehouse

    CTO, National Cyber Security Centre

  • Sarah Wyer

    Bias in Generative AI, Durham University

Agenda

The conference day was in three parts with interlocking themes. Each session comprised a keynote, a panel to discuss the topic in detail, and then 5 lighthouse examples of projects already underway to inspire the audience.

 

9:40: Session One: AI and Innovation in the public sector

Keynote: AI: the opportunity for the UK

Panel: AI and Innovation in the public Sector

Showcase: There’s an AI for that - Government

11:00: Session Two: Ethics and AI in the Public Sector

Panel: Ethics and AI in the Public Sector

Fireside chat: Procuring innovation

14:00: Session Three: AI for good and bad

Keynote: Ensuring the safety of AI

Panel: AI for Good and Bad

Showcase: There’s an AI for that - Health and Education

 

In collaboration with:

 

 
 

Venue

RSA House, 8 John Adam St, London WC2N 6EZ

Central London's award-winning RSA House is a focal point for social change and enlightened thinking whilst being at the forefront of numerous discoveries and inventions. Providing an inspiring venue, its charming Georgian features are balanced with progressive technology, high-ceilinged and bright rooms and atmospheric exposed brick Vaults.