Research Talk by Ann Borda

The Imitation Game: Advancing guidance on AI ethics and governance in practice

The talk was delivered on 19 March 2024 by Dr. Ann Borda, an Ethics Fellow in the Public Policy Programme at The Alan Turing Institute. and an Honorary Senior Research Associate in the Department of Information Studies, as part of the DIS research seminars series.

AI is having a significant impact on public policies and services around the world, but government use of AI has a steep learning curve, and the purpose of AI within government and public sector contexts present numerous challenges. To help UK civil servants learn about and explore AI in an effective and ethical way, the Alan Turing Institute’s Public Policy Programme developed a series of workbooks that promotes the understanding of the UK Government’s official Public Sector Guidance on AI Ethics and Safety published in 2019, in collaboration with the UK’s Office for Artificial Intelligence and the Government Digital Service. Co-developed with public sector groups, this guidance outlines how AI project teams in the public sector can put ethical values and practical principles into practice across the AI project lifecycle, ensuring that AI is produced and used ethically, safely, and responsibly. Complementary to this initiative, the Turing is growing a societal Readiness, Skills, and Knowledge platform which further includes guidance on AI ethics and skills tracks for early career researchers and community audiences, supported by a publicly accessible repository of resources for those seeking to explore and apply the ethical and responsible use of data. These initiatives, including the underlying ethical values and frameworks which underpin them, are the key focus of this seminar. Challenges of the evolving AI landscape are also touched on, particularly in the development and deployment of guidance for multiple stakeholders.