The AI playbook contains 10 guiding principles of AI use, including its efficiency potential as well as ethical, legal, privacy, sustainability and security risks, guiding civil servants on best practices and safe usage.

In the launch, DSIT stated that “AI is at the heart of the UK Government’s strategy to drive economic growth and enhance public service delivery,” following on from the £14 billion investment in AI within the AI Opportunities Action Plan and the plans to use AI tools such as ‘Humphrey’ to streamline public services like the NHS.

The AI Playbook expands on previous guidance given to public sector officials, covering a wider range of AI technologies, as well as machine learning, deep learning, natural language processing, computer vision, speech recognition, and more.

Michael Thornton, Senior Director, Public Sector at Investigo, commented: “The AI Playbook and recent public sector investment in AI technology is an encouraging step to arming civil servants with the tools they need to maximise AI’s potential and drive significant efficiency across public services. As part of AI adoption in the public sector, departments should balance attracting the next generation of AI-proficient civil servants alongside temporary experts to lead implementation projects and training.

“Even before the advent of widespread AI adoption, there was a gaping skills crisis engulfing UK PLC and public sector organisations, so we need to see continued resources being invested into AI in order to equip the public sector with AI tools they need to succeed.”

The guidance is freely accessible by anyone and designed to support staff in government departments and public sector bodies with varying levels of digital and AI expertise.

The AI Playbook forms part of a wider government aim of putting AI to good use, reducing time on repetitive tasks, promoting innovation, and providing an economic boost.

Ramprakash Ramamoorthy, Director of AI Research, Zoho Corporation, said: “AI has great potential to overhaul public sector efficiency driving time and cost savings across tasks such as forecasting, data analytics and fraud detection, but the ethical and privacy concerns should still remain front and centre. It’s encouraging to see DSIT’s focus on this in the AI Playbook, outlining the potential ethical, legal, privacy, sustainability and security risks of AI, ensuring civil servants have a deeper understanding of the AI systems they are using.

“The recent launch of the AI Safety Report offered a welcome roadmap on AI regulation and safety guidelines, while we hope to see continued emphasis on ethical AI at the AI Actions Summit on the world stage.

“As AI adoption progresses, transparency, accountability and international safety standards should be at the core, ensuring that staff, organisations and society as a whole are supported by its benefits, rather than challenged by its risks. As we entrust civil servants with AI systems to drive public sector efficiency, guides such as the AI Playbook will have an important role to play in ensuring the potential of this technology is maximised.”

The playbook contains explanations of AI technologies, sample use cases and corporate guidance for policy professionals.

Stuart Harvey, CEO of Datactics, said: “With the public sector ramping up AI investment and adoption, a dedicated AI Playbook can only be a positive, setting out guidelines and safeguards for AI use. However, alongside a focus on AI’s potential and risks, there needs to be comprehensive data training for staff to understand the impact of data quality and governance on meaningful AI outcomes. Without a solid data foundation, AI systems will be set up to fail, not helped by potential human error.

“Pushing forward with AI, without data readiness and sufficient data training of staff, can lead to potential bias, regulatory breaches and significantly undermining public confidence. So, any resource investment in AI should be mirrored by investment in data.”

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