Recommendation 37

However, written evidence we received from the Public Law Project raised a series of risks around DWP’s use of machine learning to tackle fraud. In particular, it noted the risk of machine learning taking on human biases when it was trained on historical data and the potential for widescale detrimental impacts on claimants if there was a system error. It said that DWP needed to be more transparent to address the issue of public confidence in its machine learning techniques.73 67 Q 46 68 Qq 46, 57 69 C&AG’s Report (on accounts), paras 32, 34 70 Committee of Public Accounts, The Department for Work & Pensions Annual Report and Accounts 2022–23, Fourth Report of Session 2023–24, HC 290, 6 December 2023; Committee of Public Accounts, The Department for Work and Pensions’ Accounts 2021–22 – Fraud and error in the benefits system, Twenty-Sixth Report of Session 2022–23, HC 44, 9 November 2022 71 Committee of Public Accounts, The Department for Work & Pensions Annual Report and Accounts 2022–23, Fourth Report of Session 2023–24, HC 290, 6 December 2023 72 C&AG’s Report (on accounts), para 34 73 DCSA0003 17