Civil service union Prospect has given its backing to prime minister Keir Starmer's action plan for unleashing the opportunities offered by artificial intelligence – but it says officials must have input on how the technology is used.
General secretary Mike Clancy said there is "no escaping" the impact AI will have on the UK economy and that measures set out by the PM yesterday are legitimate steps towards putting the UK at the forefront of development and use.
Clancy, whose union represents professionals such as scientists and engineers in government departments and agencies – as well as in the private sector – said Prospect has a track record of supporting AI. But he said it is vital for civil servants and other workers to have a meaningful say on its application.
"We have always believed that there are potentially large positives to the use of AI and other new technology in the civil service, allowing skilled public servants to minimise routine tasks and focus on tasks which require their expertise," he said.
"But to make any technology work properly and to minimise the risks involved it needs to be introduced in consultation with their workforce, not imposed on them.
"With AI being deployed across the economy in the coming years, government should set an example of what good practice looks like for AI adoption by working with civil servants and their trade unions to integrate this technology safely and effectively."
Clancy said Starmer's AI action plan represents a "double opportunity" for the nation both to lead the development of technology and to "become the gold standard for ensuring everyone benefits from its implementation".
He added: "As the country’s leading tech union we want to see workers positively involved in every stage of development. Tripartite collaboration with state, business and the workforce is the only way to ensure we achieve a future where everyone reaps the rewards of progress."
In his speech at University College London on Monday, Starmer said AI has the potential to "turbocharge" every mission in the government's Plan for Change, and is key to securing growth and raising living standards.
The speech coincided with the publication of a review commissioned from tech entrepreneur Matt Clifford, which features 50 recommendations for AI adoption – all of which the PM accepted.
Clifford has now been appointed as Starmer's "AI opportunities adviser" and will work with ministers and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology to take forward the action plan's recommendations.
A core element of the plan is a move to a new “Scan > Pilot > Scale” approach to the adoption of AI across public services, designed to make rollout less siloed and more large-scale.
The action plan says that while there are examples of AI being used well across the public sector, often those examples are "small scale and in silos".
"Scaling these successes is essential, but will require us to think differently about procurement, especially if this activity is to support the domestic startup and innovation ecosystem," the plan says.
Among the measures set out are the creation of a new function for partnering with AI companies and an underscoring of DSIT's role as the digital centre of government responsible for supporting public-sector partners to "move fast and learn things".