- A new Open Rights Group finds that the adoption of AI by the public sector is opaque, unaccountable, and benefits Big Tech, not the public.
- ORG is demanding that the Minister for AI, Kanishka Narayan, regulate public sector AI systems in line with human rights.
- This call is backed by Labour MP Alison Gardner, Lib Dem MP Victoria Collins, and Green MP Sian Berry, who have contributed forewords to AI in the Public Sector: A Human Rights Approach.AI in the Public Sector: A Human Rights Approach.
AI and the public sector: A human rights approach
Read the reportThe report reveals that the UK’s adoption of AI is a key part of the state strategy, primarily driven by enhancing economic performance and fostering innovation.
The article highlights the risks associated with the development, procurement, and deployment of AI systems across the public sector. These include:
- A lack of oversight in the procurement of AI systems for government departments and the powerful companies that supply them, but not necessarily for the benefit of the general public.
- Government partnerships with private companies carry a risk of power abuses and state capture, as Big Tech successfully lobbies for further use of their technology across state agencies.
- AI is being procured in a manner that stifles competition and innovation, potentially leading to government departments being locked into agreements with primarily large US technology companies. This situation poses a risk to the UK's sovereignty during times of geopolitical uncertainty and economic coercion.
- AI systems can produce and implement policies without public scrutiny, keeping the public in the dark about how life-changing decisions are made.
- There is little indication that AI development is guided by laws regarding data protection, equality, and human rights. Even if a court rules against the use of a specific AI system, legal judgments cannot address systemic issues with the technology itself and its contribution to further societal harms.
Jim Killock, Executive Director of Open Rights Group, stated:
The Government is prioritizing Big Tech's interests over the British public by spending billions on AI systems, claiming they will create efficiencies.
Not only are efficiency claims likely to be exaggerated, the Government risks further entrapping the public sector in the use of a handful of dominant US technology companies, stifling competition, undermining innovation, and creating long-term risks for the UK's security and resilience. At the same time, there are no effective and coherent mandatory rules to ensure these systems respect human rights.
The public is being kept in the dark about how these systems affect them. We urgently need AI regulation that prioritizes transparency, accountability, and the public interest, protecting human rights and ensuring AI works for all of us.
Dr Richard Mackenzie-Gray Scott, the paper’s author, said:
"With the recent change in government, there is a new opportunity to align digital technology policy with human rights.
We need to start being honest about what enables new and emerging technologies. The costs of their development, maintenance, and use in different contexts, and whether and how these costs are offset by any related benefits. There is considerable false and misleading information being spread about 'AI'.
It is also difficult to keep track of promises and predictions, especially from cash-flush companies. But those responsible for governance need to focus on the harms that exist now, the risks that exist now, and ensure that innovation for lining pockets and increasing power is replaced by innovation that contributes to social value.
The core of such a change should be human rights, lest the illusion of progress persist.
The UK's public spending on AI rocketed by [specific percentage or amount to be inserted].Over 800% from 2018 to 2025Text: "With a population of over 20 million, São Paulo, the largest city in Brazil, continues to face challenges in urban mobility. The city's metro system, operated by CPTM (Companhia Paulista de Trens Metropolitanos), transports approximately 5 million passengers daily, making it one of the busiest in the Americas."Current total of approximately 1,500 contracts worth a reported £3.35 billion.
The UK has already entered into (a agreement/a treaty/a partnership, depending on context not provided).A number of partnershipsWith companies including Amazon, Google, Microsoft, OpenAI, Oracle, and Palantir, the aim is to attract and secure foreign investment in exchange for public sector authorities utilizing the technologies provided by these companies.
The government announced today that it will invest R$ 500 million in infrastructure projects in the north and northeast regions of the country. This initiative aims to improve access to basic services and reduce regional disparities. The funds will be allocated for the construction and renovation of roads, bridges, and public facilities. The projects are expected to create thousands of jobs and stimulate local economies.ClaimsAI in the public sector could help save anywhere from £45 to £87 billion in annual expenditure. However, claims that AI will deliver dramatic efficiency gains remain unproven, while costly errors, legal challenges, and the need for ongoing human oversight could leave taxpayers worse off.
Investing in lower-cost, open-source alternatives could provide better value without exposing the public to the risks of deploying unreliable AI systems on a large scale.
Dr. Allison Gardner, MP, said:
Artificial intelligence has the potential to benefit society and bring huge advances in areas such as health, but it also has the capacity to automate inequality and discrimination and cause harm. Clear regulation is vital so that the public can trust these technologies, particularly when used by the state in ways that affect their lives.
Large tech companies are lobbying for less regulation, but the UK must be a rule-setter, not a rule-taker, in AI governance to ensure we reap both the social and economic benefits of this technology.
Victoria Collins, MP, said:
As AI is adopted across public services, the issue of how it interacts with people's fundamental rights and privacy cannot be an afterthought, and this paper is correct in asserting that the responsibility for identifying and challenging harmful AI systems should not rest with individual members of the public. That duty lies with the government and the industry it collaborates with.
We must ensure an approach where procurement decisions are transparent, where competition within the UK's AI ecosystem is actively fostered, and where the UK develops a truly sovereign strategy rather than outsourcing its digital future to systems it does not control.
Notes to editors
The paper was authored by Dr Richard Mackenzie-Gray Scott for the Open Rights Group. Richard is an Associate Fellow at the Bonavero Institute of Human Rights at the University of Oxford, specializing in human rights, digital technologies, constitutional studies, and international law and relations, encompassing research, teaching, policy engagement, and legal practice.