Northern Ireland’s finance minister has pledged that the roll out of artificial intelligence in government will not be solely driven by the potential to save money, but he stopped short of guaranteeing to protect civil service jobs.
John O’Dowd’s comments came in response to questions on the use of AI in government at the Northern Ireland Assembly last week.
O’Dowd, whose Department of Finance is responsible for the general management and control of the Northern Ireland Civil Service, said a number of small-scale “proof of value” projects were looking at how AI could “deliver value” for the public sector.
“It is crucial that we understand the transformative power of AI and how it can be harnessed to benefit our society but in a responsible and controlled manner,” he said. “AI presents many opportunities for the public sector to automate routine tasks, streamline processes and improve the management of public resources.”
O’Dowd said an AI working group had been established in the DoF, bringing together digital leaders from across departments to share emerging findings and take on board learnings.
“We have to ensure that data and human dignity, for instance, are protected and that all service users are comfortable interacting with the AI if it is a front-facing service or a service that we use behind the scenes for reading and interrogating documents," he said. “I have already discussed the matter with officials. At this stage, I am satisfied that we are on the right path. However, it is an area that deserves careful monitoring by me, which it will have.”
O’Dowd said the “most important things” were protecting people’s personal data, making sure the public is “comfortable” using new systems, and ensuring staff are not replaced with AI just “because it is cost-efficient".
“You cannot simply measure the contribution of staff on the basis of pounds, shillings and pence,” he said. “Greater measures have to be taken into account rather than simply using a mathematical equation. It cannot be a mathematical equation. There are too many elements to understand before decisions are made.”
Nevertheless, O’Dowd did not give a direct answer when asked what safeguards and guarantees would be put in place to ensure that the NICS’s use of AI would be designed to support civil servants rather than to replace them.
“I will take careful, personal consideration and oversight of the matter as that area of technological advancement increases and increases rapidly," he said. “We have all witnessed significant technological advancement in our own lifetime, which has, in many ways, provided and improved public services, making them more efficient and ensuring that we are able to deliver them to as many people as possible in constrained budgetary times.”
The minister said the “fullest examination” of staffing issues would be taken forward "before any radical decisions are made”.