Civil servants hopeful on AI’s role as Jeremy Hunt goes on productivity drive

Civil servants are hopeful that artificial intelligence (AI) could cut down on unnecessary admin and reduce stress, according to an official survey.

Public sector workers surveyed by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) responded “favourably” to the introduction of AI, provided there was a strong business case, careful implementation and strong data security.

“Participants felt that, used appropriately, automation and AI had the potential to improve public sector worker’s efficiency, reduce stress, and overload, and allow them to work on more complex or ‘core’ tasks,” the survey said.

The government is hopeful that AI can help turnaround the UK’s stagnant productivity, which has flat-lined since 1997. Improving productivity could deliver the Treasury massive savings and free up space for tax cuts in this week’s Spring Budget.

Over the weekend, the government revealed plans to deliver up to £1.8bn worth of benefits by 2029 through improving public sector productivity.

Announcing the plans, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said: “We shouldn’t fall into the trap of thinking more spending buys us better public services.”

“There is too much waste in the system and we want public servants to get back to doing what matters most: teaching our children, keeping us safe and treating us when we’re sick,” he continued.

The plans will see £800m worth of investment in public services, with a particular focus on new technologies such as AI. For example, it announced that over 100 MRI scanners will be updated with AI to help reduce waiting times for test results.

The technology will also be applied to help tackle fraud and cut waiting times on planning applications.

However, the ONS survey showed that poor basic technologies can impede efficiency. “A number of participants felt that obsolete IT systems and a lack of connection between systems was a barrier to more effective automation,” it said.