Newly announced expert panel aims to shape the ethical and effective adoption of AI in public sector delivery across Wales
The Welsh government has announced the formation of a group of experts to look at ways in which artificial intelligence can be used to improve public services. Notably, the new group isn’t just tasked with exploring the effectiveness and economic case for using AI; it’s also looking at the ethics of deploying it, too.
Photo by Igor Omilaev / Unsplash
The AI Strategy Advisory Group has been formed to comprise a wide range of expertise, with its various members having backgrounds in business and innovation, academia or social partnerships.
They include: Professor Diane Gutiw, AI Research Centre Lead at CGI; Jeegar Kakkad, Director at Tony Blair Institute for Global Change; Ruth McGuinness, Head of Data and AI at Kainos; Gina Neff, Professor of Responsible AI at Queen Mary University of London; Walter Pasquarelli, advisor on AI and Synthetic Reality; Marloes Pomp, VP at European AI Forum; Rachel Purchase, Director of Data and Analytics at Admiral; Shavanah Taj, General Secretary at Wales TUC; and Santosh Takoor, Head of Cloud and AI Platform for Public Sector at Microsoft UK.
From the Welsh public sector, members include: Glyn Jones, Chief Digital Officer at Welsh Government; Helen Arthur, Director of Workforce and Organisational Development in Health and Social Care at Welsh Government; Jas Pal Baydal, Chief Scientific Advisor at Welsh Government; Harriet Green and Myra Hunt, Joint CEOs of the Centre for Digital Public Services in Wales; Matt Lewis, Chair of the Cross Public Sector AI Leadership Group in Wales; and Lindsey Phillips, Chief Digital Officer, Welsh Local Government Association.
The Welsh government’s Head of the Office for AI will also be a member of the group.
The first meeting of the AI Strategy Advisory Group will be hosted by Rebecca Evans MS, Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Energy and Planning. She says: ‘Artificial Intelligence is bringing changes to all our lives. It has the potential to significantly improve our public services, but in doing so we must ensure that it is deployed ethically. The First Minister recently announced £2.5m for Welsh public services to ensure we are making the best use of AI; as well as the creation of a dedicated Office for AI within the Welsh government.
‘We are already a government committed to fair work, and Wales is a nation of cutting-edge development in technology. I want to bring these elements together to develop high standards for AI in Welsh public life.’
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