Data scientists will be upskilled into artificial
intelligence specialists by a new scheme starting
today, as the government looks to use the technology to fix
public services, save the taxpayer money and drive growth as part
of its Plan for Change.
Across 12-weeks, the first run of the AI Accelerator Programme
will train up 25 Machine Learning Engineers through hackathons,
where the coders will help tackle live government challenges.
Technical experts from justice, health and transport authorities
will join the programme before returning to their departments
with new skills to build AI tools that can help
reduce backlogs, save money, and stop officials and the public
from wasting time on bulky processes.
Today's news follows the Prime Minister announcing plans to
double the number of digital experts in government departments,
as the government seeks to transform public services and find £45
billion in productivity savings from AI and digital technology.
AI and Digital
Government Minister said:
We have started to build generative AI chatbots to change how
people interact with the state, AI helpers to put an end to
the mindless hours we spend on hold waiting for someone to pick
up the phone, and tools to help get the views of citizens on
policy proposals much more quickly – but AI can help with so much
more.
There is no reason people shouldn't expect the same experience
from public services, as they get from the most innovative
businesses. By building AI skills across
government, we'll be able to deliver just that – all while
finding efficiencies and transforming services to deliver our
Plan for Change.
A Data Scientist from the UK Health Security Agency starting
the AI Accelerator Programme
today said:
I am very excited for the opportunity to develop and utilise
skills in AI.
There is so much potential to use AI to improve how we work
in my agency and in healthcare more widely.
The programme will help me understand what we need to think about
when building AI in the public sector,
including how to manage data safely and be transparent in our
work.
A Data Scientist from Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency
(DVLA)
who is also starting the programme today said:
I am very excited for the opportunity to take part in
the AI Accelerator Programme.
It will be fantastic to collaborate with other data scientists
across the civil service to produce machine learning models that
are streamlined, responsible, effective, and explainable.
After completing the programme, I'm looking forward to being able
to deploy models into production as this will be a huge benefit
to the organisation.
Participants from the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), Welsh Government, Scottish
Government, UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), DVLA, and more will
join the programme, which will include a major component focused
on the ethics of AI.
Here, learners will explore the frameworks needed to ensure
that AI technologies are used
responsibly and ethically within public services. This includes
tackling issues like transparency, accountability, and bias to
ensure AI works fairly for
everyone.
Notes to editors
The AI Accelerator Programme is
being delivered with Decoded, a training company that specialises
in building AI skills. Richard
Peters, CEO of Decoded, added:
At Decoded, we are proud to partner with the government to launch
the AI Accelerator Programme.
This initiative will empower civil servants with the skills to
effectively implement AI solutions, helping
government departments unlock the power of data to improve
services, decision-making, and security.
