LG/WWW

It's likely there are hundreds of solutions that utilise generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) already in use across the public sector. Where I work we're already using AI for a variety of tasks, from drafting reports using i.AI's pilot of Minute , or writing job applications which we developed ourselves . Under the surface of these solutions you'll find many have at least one thing in common; They are essentially user interfaces for large language models (LLMs) owned by OpenAI, Amazon, Google, or Meta. We've seen a lot about scaling up the use of AI in the public sector recently, and this letter from the Department of Science, Innovation, and Technology states that the Government calculated their efficiency targets using the assumption that 100% of routine tasks could be automated. Whether that's achievable is a question for another time, but even if half of that target was reached, that's 50% of UK public sector tasks essentially outsourced to US tec...

Service patterns are reusable designs for common problems that help create consistent functions and services.  I've been talking about service patterns and design with people from around the public sector recently, partly because this could be key to a wholesale reshaping of the public sector. Service design goes beyond the use of digital, but given almost every public service now makes some use of technology now, service design and digital transformation are intrinsically linked. I became aware of the need for common service patterns at an event organised by the Department for Communities and Local Government a few years ago. The workshop was part of the now defunct GOV.Verify programme, and brought together licencing and digital teams from councils across the country. The idea was to see if Verify could be used as part of a common service to apply for a taxi licence, but as the day went on it became apparent that despite similar roles all delivering services to same legislation,...

I'm putting aside half an hour of my own time to talk to you What I'd like to talk about Primarily anything around technology, data, and the internet, which relates to the design and delivery of public services. That could be anything from a specific development to a global trend. Secondly, politics, or rather how politics and policies might affect local and regional government. And finally, Arsenal Football Club, although my interest in this will vary depending on how well we're doing in the WSL and Premier League. What I don't want to talk about A product or service you'd like me to buy. I might be interested, just not through this route. Specific political parties or politicians. I have views, but I won't be expressing them here. Recruitment. I'm possibly interested in employing you or being employed by you, just not through this route. Who would I like to talk to? Anyone worldwide who wants to discuss the topics I'm interested in. We may never met or...

  A new government allows for reflection and change unlike any other time. It provides the opportunity for constructive criticism of the past, and to embrace the opportunities of the future, unburdened by the legacy of years in power. It happened in 2011, and it’s happening in 2025. This week saw the release of the State of Digital Government and the Blueprint for Modern Digital Government , a kind of call and response around the landscape of digital public services and how the Government might improve them. I had worried that given both reports were completed in what was a reasonably short space of time that they might not be as rigorous or as inclusive as they could be. I needn't have.  The State of Digital Government is one of the most honest reports into the UK public sector digital I've read in a while. It is critical whilst not being judgemental, and realistic about the opportunities and challenges for true transformation of public services.. In some respects it feels l...

I'm writing this piece after reading Hetan Shah 's excellent article in The New Statesman, AI will not magically solve our public services  and contributing to a short  discussion thread on Bluesky , which by the way is one of the many reasons why Bluesky feels like Twitter did 10+ years ago, which is a good thing. I should preface this by saying first I don't have a view on Tony Blair, and we're already doing at lot with AI where I work, from predicting where potholes will appear , to using a translation service developed by Swindon Borough Council  which is saving tens of thousands of pounds a year, to drafting things like job advertisements , which I use as evidence that I'm certainly not against the use of AI in the public sector. Hetan's piece neatly summarises the hype. It also describes from where that hype might be emanating, the lofty expectations and risks of using AI in the public sector, and what the public sector should be using AI for right now. Am...

2024's LocalGovCamp was held on 25 and 26 September at STEAMHouse in Birmingham. Below are some personal notes and refilections on the event.  25 September 2024 - Hack Day The hack was back. Whilst there had been a hack day in previous years, most notably the local democracy hack in Leeds in 2015, it had taken a break for a few years until 2024.  The 2015 event saw the participants leave the venue and roam the streets conducting guerrilla research on real people for an hour in the afternoon, and as an organiser part of me feared no one would return; thankfully they did. This year, somewhat predictably we covered the topic of artificial intelligence (AI), and attendees were a mixture of local government officers and students at Birmingham City University, whom we managed to keep in the building for the duration of both sessions. In the morning I ran a session on creating topic based assistants, something we've been doing at West Berkshire Council which you'll see more about...