Standards watchdog to hold inquiry on AI and standards in public sector

The Committee on Standards in Public Life has announced a review into artificial intelligence and its impact on standards across the public sector.

The watchdog said the review would examine “whether the existing frameworks and regulations are sufficient to ensure that high standards of conduct are upheld as technologically assisted decision-making is adopted more widely across the public sector”.

The terms of reference for the inquiry can be found here.

Lord Evans, chair of the CSPL, said: “Honesty, integrity, objectivity, openness, leadership, selflessness and accountability were first outlined by Lord Nolan as the standards expected of those who act on the public’s behalf.

“These principles have stood the test of time and are deeply embedded across much of the public sector - from the Civil Service and NHS bodies to local councils and schools. The increasing development and use of data and data-enabled technologies in our public services can potentially bring huge advantages in terms of pace and scale of service delivery, but there are some major ethical and practical challenges about what this means for accountability, objectivity and the other Nolan principles."

Lord Evans added: “As the committee celebrates its 25th year as an advisory body conducting broad reviews of key ethical issues, we want to look at what the future holds for public services and help ensure that high standards of conduct continue to be ‘built in’ to new ways of making decisions on the public’s behalf.

“We are keen to hear from individuals and organisations who are developing policy, systems or safeguards on the use of AI as we gather evidence for this review.”

The CSPL expects to publish its report in the New Year.