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Updated PLP resource on government’s use of automatic decision making
PLP launched the Tracking Automated Government register in February 2023, revealing details of 41 algorithms used by government departments (including DWP and the MoJ) to make or inform decisions.
PLP now advises -
- As of 2 August 2024, there are 55 automated tools tracked in the register
- Of these 55, 38 are classed as low transparency, 16 as medium transparency, and 1 as high transparency
- 83.6 per cent of these tools were only uncovered or more fully understood through the submission of Freedom of Information requests
- 49.1 per cent of these tools have publicly available government assessments on their impact on the protected characteristics of individuals
Looking at DWP entries, there are currently seven highlighted - with five assessed as ‘low transparency (including fraud and error detection pilots for housing, living together, capital and self-employment) and two with medium transparency.
More: https://trackautomatedgovernment.shinyapps.io/register/
From the Guardian:
Artificial intelligence and algorithmic tools used by central government are to be published on a public register after warnings they can contain “entrenched” racism and bias.
Officials confirmed this weekend that tools challenged by campaigners over alleged secrecy and a risk of bias will be named shortly. The technology has been used for a range of purposes, from trying to detect sham marriages to rooting out fraud and error in benefit claims.
The move is a victory for campaigners who have been challenging the deployment of AI in central government in advance of what is likely to be a rapid rollout of the technology in the public sector.
Caroline Selman, a senior research fellow at the Public Law Project (PLP), an access-to-justice charity, said there had been a lack of transparency on the existence, details and deployment of the systems. “We need to make sure public bodies are publishing the information about these tools, which are being rapidly rolled out. It is in everyone’s interest that the technology which is adopted is lawful, fair and non-discriminatory.”