Foundation commissions new workshops on how can AI make people’s lives better

The Nuffield Foundation, in collaboration with the Ada Lovelace Institute, has commissioned two prominent research institutions to host a series of workshops on AI to explore the opportunities and risks for the public sector.

Led by Professor Diane Coyle at the Bennett Institute for Public Policy, and Professor Wendy Hall at the Web Science Institute, the workshops will be at the forefront of generating new research ideas on how to steer the development and use of AI in the public sector for the benefit of people and society. The findings will inform a funding call on AI, highlighting it as a new priority area of interest for the Foundation.

Many urgent questions remain unanswered about the potential far-reaching impact of AI on people’s lives. Rapidly developing AI technology is raising concerns about issues including data privacy and decision-making, which could lead to biases and unequal treatment of citizens. But there are also likely to be positives, such as improving the responsiveness of public services, and better data analysis.

The four workshops will explore the advantages and drawbacks facing the public sector as they start to adopt AI, very often without the capacity or skills to evaluate AI products or use them appropriately and effectively.

Topics include:

• Just outcomes: AI and administrative justice
• AI and Public Health
• Civic AI for place-based solutions
• Market failures: what will Silicon Valley not do?

Creating a unique forum, each workshop will bring together leading stakeholders, experts, and policymakers from a range of sectors and disciplines to discuss the issues within the overarching context of how AI can enable public services to be delivered effectively, equitably, and responsibly.

They will also identify research questions relating to technical challenges, governance, the social and political context, data and information gaps, ethics, and public attitudes.

The Foundation will use findings from the workshops to set out details of a new funding call on AI as part of our Research, Development and Analysis Fund in March 2025.

Alex Beer, Head of Grants Operations and Portfolio Development, is leading the project. She said: “The Foundation wants the power of AI to be harnessed to build a better future for society.”

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