Advocacy for Establishing a City AI Committee
In the UK, the procurement of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies by local governments is facing several challenges. These challenges include unrealistic expectations and poor scoping of requirements, a lack of expertise and capacity in local government, imbalances between local government's capacity and the private sector, and the complexity of AI regulation.
Government initiatives for digital and AI-related skills often assume a homogeneous public sector, missing the nuances and specific considerations necessary for successful digital transformation and AI deployment in local government. As a result, local government procurers navigate practical challenges that relate to AI governance and technological and infrastructural unpreparedness.
However, best practices are emerging to address these challenges. Governments must avoid rushing tenders without clear, realistic requirements and understanding of AI's organizational value. Adopting a flexible, transparent procurement approach that values social outcomes is also crucial. Developing rigorous evaluation and learning mechanisms, engaging cross-sector collaboration, and setting up structures like a What Works Centre for AI can aid in disseminating lessons from pilots and evaluations, helping practitioners access best practices and rigorous evidence before widespread adoption.
Recognising the need for a more joined-up approach, a national AI procurement taskforce is being called for. This taskforce, particularly with a focus on local government, can help by providing independent, expert guidance and standards, addressing capacity imbalances, facilitating knowledge sharing, and enhancing public legitimacy and trust.
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology has committed to engaging more deeply with local government, aligning with the call for a taskforce. This taskforce could focus on aligning the goals of central and local government, ensuring trustworthy technology deployment, enabling council collaboration, supporting clear standards, and addressing market concentration issues. Central government should empower procuring entities with practical tools and resources, hold third parties accountable to public sector standards, and redistributing power from industry to local government and communities.
The state of AI procurement in local government is not sufficiently supported. Clarifying the purpose and role of AI in relation to the public interest is a crucial issue to address. Deploying AI in public services comes with issues such as power imbalances between public institutions and private tech providers. The AI Opportunities Action Plan and A blueprint for modern digital government have been announced, but e-learning modules for civil servants and Parliament exclude local government offices and public authorities, duplicating efforts and diverting training resources.
The experts who attended the roundtable provided valuable insights for shaping the recommendation for a taskforce. A successful taskforce needs to be iterative and remain relevant as AI technologies and policies continue to transform. The UK government hopes for AI-driven improvement of public services, but it is essential to ensure that this improvement is equitable, transparent, and in the best interest of local communities.
Technology plays a pivotal role in the challenges faced by local governments in procuring AI technologies, and addressing these challenges requires a more joined-up approach. A national AI procurement taskforce, particularly focused on local government, can provide expert guidance, address capacity imbalances, and facilitate knowledge sharing to enhance public legitimacy and trust.
