UK Government launches new AI tools to save public billions

Artificial intelligence (AI) is to overhaul public services under new UK government plans.

A new technology plan will put AI to work across public bodies to kickstart a “decade of national renewal”, the government has said.

The new technology aims to cut costs, boost efficiency, and “turbocharge” the Labour government’s plan for change.

The plans follow on from Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s AI speech, where he described the technology as a “force of change that will transform the lives of working people for the better”.

And it comes in response to a report showing that public services are missing out on £45bn in productivity savings due to relying in “outdated” technology.

Technology secretary Peter Kyle said: “Sluggish technology has hampered our public services for too long, and it’s costing us all a fortune in time and money. Not to mention the headaches and stresses we’re left with after being put on hold or forced to take a trip to fill out a form.”

The government claims the new plans will help get rid of red tape, scrapping tasks such as registering deaths in person at local councils, as well as help public bodies take a more “common sense” approach towards data-sharing.

Kyle added: “We will use technology to bear down hard to the nonsensical approach the public sector takes to sharing information and working together to help the people it serves.”

As part of the plan, the government unveiled a new AI tools package for civil servants, named Humphrey, in an effort to “modernise the state”. The technology will aim to streamline policymaking and cut back on resources spent on public consultations.

Consult, a tool in the package, will be used to analyse consultation responses, in a move which is expected to bring down spending.

The government claims the current analysis process, which is outsourced, costs around £100,000 and can take months to be completed.

Other tools include Parlex, which will analyse past Common’s debates to predict MPs’ response to new policies, and Redblox, a generative AI tool that will summarise policy and prepare briefings.

The government also announced it will create new training programmes to help civil service technologists become AI engineers and confirmed a digital and AI roadmap will be published in summer aligned with the second phase of the spending review.