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AI and Public Services - UCL Uncovering Politics X Political Quarterly
4 December 2024
How far could AI tools help to tackle stagnant public sector productivity? What dangers are associated with AI adoption? And how can these dangers be addressed?
Artificial intelligence is increasingly being touted as a game-changer across various sectors, including public services. But while AI presents significant opportunities for improving efficiency and effectiveness, concerns about fairness, equity, and past failures in public sector IT transformations loom large. And, of course, the idea of tech moguls like Elon Musk wielding immense influence over our daily lives is unsettling for many.
So, what are the real opportunities AI offers for public services? What risks need to be managed? And how well are governments—particularly in the UK—rising to the challenge?
In this episode, we dive into these questions with three expert guests who have recently published an article in The Political Quarterly on the subject:
- Helen Margetts – Professor of Society and the Internet at the Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford, and Director of the Public Policy Programme at The Alan Turing Institute. Helen was Director of the School of Public Policy at UCL (our department's earlier form).
- Cosmina Dorobantu – Co-director of the Public Policy Programme at The Alan Turing Institute.
- Jonathan Bright – Head of Public Services and AI Safety at The Alan Turing Institute.
Helen, Cosima and Jonathan have published a recent article called 'How to Build Progressive Public Services with Data Science and Artificial Intelligence' in The Political Quarterly. The Political Quarterly shares our goal of making cutting-edge political and policy research accessible to a broad audience beyond academia. This episode marks the third installment in our occasional series where we discuss insightful work published in the journal.