Committee on Standards in Public Life: Artificial Intelligence and Public Standards: report
R20-6
Response position Accepted
Published February 2020
Response position and delivery status are recorded separately. Acceptance does not establish implementation.
Recommendation (the Committee's words)
The Crown Commercial Service’s Digital Marketplace The Crown Commercial Service should introduce practical tools as part of its new AI framework that help public bodies, and those delivering services to the public, find AI products and services that meet their ethical requirements.
From: Committee on Standards in Public Life, Artificial Intelligence and Public Standards: report, February 2020
Government response
Government response (the government's words)
During the Annual Meeting in Davos 2018, the DCMS Secretary of State signed an agreement to co-design innovative new tech policy approaches with the World Economic Forum’s Centre of the Fourth Industrial Revolution in San Francisco.
The Office for AI seconded an official to the Centre and collaborated on co-designing Guidelines for AI procurement to unlock AI adoption in the public sector. The outputs of the project aim to support innovation in ethical AI development through government procurement. The Guidelines are designed to enable government departments to accelerate the adoption of machine learning (ML) tools and ensure that the public is comfortable with the way AI-based systems make decisions. We drafted a Whitepaper with the World Economic Forum and adapted the Guidelines for the UK, publishing the AI Procurement Guidelines in June 2020 following consultation and a pilot with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.
The AI Procurement Guidelines recommend that procurement be carried out by diverse teams – in terms of both protected characteristics and background – in order to ensure that AI systems are representative of the diverse society they serve. The Guidelines recommend going above and beyond the legal requirements for AI services, for example, by recommending that Equality Impact Assessments be carried out in addition to Data Protection Impact Assessments, to uphold commitments in the Equalities Act 2010 and Public Sector Equality Duty.
The Guidelines support the Government’s Technology Innovation Strategy that was published by the Government Digital Service in June 2019. The Guidelines, along with the ‘Guide to Using AI in the Public Sector’ describe the foundations that each government organisation will need to best use emerging technologies including AI. They support the government’s aims and ambitions of the responsible use of AI and Data driven technologies, and guide government departments as they prepare their plans for the Spending Review.
The work on the Guidelines included early engagement with the Crown Commercial Services, who are the ultimate implementers of the Guidelines’ recommendations. In September 2020, an AI-specific Dynamic Purchasing System was launched, complementing the existing Digital Marketplace. This electronic platform provides categories such as consultancy services and ‘over-the-counter’ AI products and services. Implementing the Marketplace included establishing a baseline ethical standard that suppliers must meet to be added to the marketplace, such as the Data Ethics Framework. Crown Commercial Services engaged the market to ensure the Dynamic Purchasing System meets user needs.
The Office for AI seconded an official to the Centre and collaborated on co-designing Guidelines for AI procurement to unlock AI adoption in the public sector. The outputs of the project aim to support innovation in ethical AI development through government procurement. The Guidelines are designed to enable government departments to accelerate the adoption of machine learning (ML) tools and ensure that the public is comfortable with the way AI-based systems make decisions. We drafted a Whitepaper with the World Economic Forum and adapted the Guidelines for the UK, publishing the AI Procurement Guidelines in June 2020 following consultation and a pilot with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.
The AI Procurement Guidelines recommend that procurement be carried out by diverse teams – in terms of both protected characteristics and background – in order to ensure that AI systems are representative of the diverse society they serve. The Guidelines recommend going above and beyond the legal requirements for AI services, for example, by recommending that Equality Impact Assessments be carried out in addition to Data Protection Impact Assessments, to uphold commitments in the Equalities Act 2010 and Public Sector Equality Duty.
The Guidelines support the Government’s Technology Innovation Strategy that was published by the Government Digital Service in June 2019. The Guidelines, along with the ‘Guide to Using AI in the Public Sector’ describe the foundations that each government organisation will need to best use emerging technologies including AI. They support the government’s aims and ambitions of the responsible use of AI and Data driven technologies, and guide government departments as they prepare their plans for the Spending Review.
The work on the Guidelines included early engagement with the Crown Commercial Services, who are the ultimate implementers of the Guidelines’ recommendations. In September 2020, an AI-specific Dynamic Purchasing System was launched, complementing the existing Digital Marketplace. This electronic platform provides categories such as consultancy services and ‘over-the-counter’ AI products and services. Implementing the Marketplace included establishing a baseline ethical standard that suppliers must meet to be added to the marketplace, such as the Data Ethics Framework. Crown Commercial Services engaged the market to ensure the Dynamic Purchasing System meets user needs.
From: HM Government. Source document ↗