UK Government Releases Guidelines on AI Procurement

The United Kingdom Government has released a set of guidelines which summarize the “best practices” on how the government should procure and utilize artificial intelligence (AI). These guidelines come shortly after the recent World Economic Forum discussion on procurement of AI by governments.

The guidelines acknowledge that existing policy and guidance in other sectors, including, digital services, data ethics, and open data standards, among others, should be referred to as well in order to supplement these guidelines.

The guidelines highlight ten considerations that states should consider when procuring AI, ranging from domain expertise, data assessment, benefits and risks of AI deployment, developing long-term plans, and long-term management. Further, the guidelines specify considerations for the procurement process that specifically pertaining to AI. These recommendations have been implemented in a checklist style fashion, likely to facilitate the implementation of these guidelines.

This comes at a time when states are increasingly utilizing artificial intelligence for a variety of state functions, ranging from improving administrative operations, surveillance, and implementing social welfare programs. This would likely have significant implications for agencies that seek to apply and leverage of the benefits of AI in the United Kingdom.