UK government failing to list use of AI on mandatory register

Not a single Whitehall department has registered the use of artificial intelligence systems since the government said it would become mandatory, prompting warnings that the public sector is “flying blind” about the deployment of algorithmic technology affecting millions of lives.

AI is already being used by government to inform decisions on everything from benefit payments to immigration enforcement, and records show public bodies have awarded dozens of contracts for AI and algorithmic services. A contract for facial recognition software, worth up to £20m, was put up for grabs last week by a police procurement body set up by the Home Office, reigniting concerns about “mass biometric surveillance”.

But details of only nine algorithmic systems have so far been submitted to a public register, with none of a growing number of AI programs used in the welfare system, by the Home Office or by the police among them. The dearth of information comes despite the government announcing in February this year that the use of the AI register would now be “a requirement for all government departments”.

Experts have warned that if adopted uncritically, AI brings potential for harms, with recent prominent examples of IT systems not working as intended including the Post Office’s Horizon software. AI in use within Whitehall ranges from Microsoft’s Copilot system, which is being widely trialled, to automated fraud and error checks in the benefits system. One recent AI contract notice issued by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) described “a mushrooming of interest within DWP, which mirrors that of wider government and society”.

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