The UK government recently utilized an artificial intelligence (AI) tool called “Consult” to analyze comments from a public consultation on botox and lip fillers. This marks the first time such technology has been used in the country for this purpose. The tool was set to work sorting through responses to a Scottish government consultation on regulating non-surgical cosmetic procedures.
According to officials, the AI tool provided results that were “nearly identical” to those produced by humans undertaking the same task. This successful trial demonstrated the potential for Consult to save civil servants time on similar projects in the future, ultimately saving taxpayers an estimated £20m. The UK government has a series of AI-powered tools, collectively referred to as “Humphrey,” after the fictional senior civil servant from the sitcom Yes, Minister, in an effort to streamline bureaucracy.
Consult was able to analyze 2,000 submissions in this trial, but public consultations often generate tens of thousands of responses. The tool identified themes, counted, and cataloged answers, with human experts verifying its findings at each stage. It was later compared to the results produced by a team of human experts working concurrently. The success of the trial has led to plans for Consult to be used more widely across the UK government in the near future, as part of an initiative to save £45bn through the adoption of AI technology in the public sector.
The government emphasized that Consult is still in the trial stage, and further evaluation will be conducted before any decision is made to expand its use. They reassured that there will always be “humans in the loop” overseeing Consult’s work. To address concerns about AI systems inventing information and displaying bias, officials explained that as Consult was designed for a specific task, issues such as hallucination and bias were mitigated. The tool has also been tested for handling language with errors, but is currently only operational in English. For other languages spoken in the UK, translations would be required
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