The government has announced a $1 million fellowship grant, supported by Meta and the Alan Turing Institute, aimed at developing technology for public services.
This 12-month fellowship in government will allow participants to leverage open source artificial intelligence (AI) models, including Meta's Llama 3.5, to create innovative tools aligned with Labour's Plan for Change.
Joel Kaplan, Meta’s chief global affairs officer, emphasized the transformative potential of open source AI, saying, “Open source AI models are helping researchers and developers make major scientific and medical breakthroughs, and they have the potential to transform the delivery of public services, too.” He expressed hope that these fellows will significantly contribute to demonstrating the value of open source AI for both governments and society.
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) believes widespread adoption of open source AI could help reduce costs for taxpayers while enhancing efficiency and consistency in public service delivery.
Jean Innes, CEO of the Alan Turing Institute, highlighted how open source technologies can elevate productivity and improve decision-making in governmental operations. “These fellowships will offer an innovative way to match AI experts with the real-world challenges our public services are facing,” she stated.
AI experts will tackle various high-security use cases, such as language translation in national security settings, while also enhancing existing AI tools like 'Humphrey,' designed to streamline administrative tasks for civil servants.
Labour has recently introduced the AI customer service assistant, 'Caddy,' which aids staff in navigating grant decision processes.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer expressed a commitment to leveraging AI for governmental transformation, asserting that tasks better executed by AI should not burden human officials.
Technology Secretary Peter Kyle remarked that this fellowship exemplifies “the best of AI in action,” emphasizing its practical, open, and public-oriented nature, aimed at delivering tangible solutions for governmental operations.
The timing of this fellowship aligns with the open-sourcing of 'Caddy,' which is currently utilized across six Citizens Advice call centers, enhancing service delivery on a variety of issues, from debt management to legal assistance.
Early test results indicate that 80% of the responses generated by Caddy were immediately usable without revisions, while advisors reported double the confidence in the accuracy of their answers when using the tool.
Along with the fellowship initiative, the government has expanded its AI Knowledge Hub to facilitate the sharing of AI system deployment strategies among various departments. Upcoming features will include a Prompt Library, further enhancing teams’ abilities to utilize AI effectively to boost productivity and improve service delivery.
