Government launches AI assurance platform for business

At the same time, the government launches its own chatbot trial

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AI assurance platform will be a one-stop shop for SMEs

AI assurance platform offers businesses one-stop shop for guidance on identifying and managing potential risks associated with AI. At the same time a beta for a chatbot designed to help SME business users is rolled out to 15,000 users.

The government announced yesterday the launch of an AI assurance platform. The platform will be a centralised resource for businesses to identify and mitigate the potential pitfalls AI poses, as part of a wider effort to strengthen the AI assurance sector.

In a statement, the government said that the 524 companies now making up the UK’s fast growing AI assurance sector already generate more than £1bn of revenue and employ more than 12,000 people.

These services are increasingly in demand from businesses seeking expertise and tools to safely develop their own businesses with AI.

Secretary of State for Science, Innovation, and Technology, Peter Kyle, said:

“AI has incredible potential to improve our public services, boost productivity and rebuild our economy but, in order to take full advantage, we need to build trust in these systems which are increasingly part of our day to day lives.

“The steps I’m announcing today will help to deliver exactly that – giving businesses the support and clarity they need to use AI safely and responsibly while also making the UK a true hub of AI assurance expertise.”

The platform will be a one-stop shop setting out instructions for carrying out impact assessments and evaluations and on how to review data for bias. SMEs will be able to use a self-assessment tool to implement responsible AI management practices in their organisations and make better decisions as they develop and use AI systems.

Industry feedback through a public consultation launches at the same time.

Government launches 15,000 chatbot trial

The government has launched a limited beta of a chatbot designed to provide help and information for small businesses. The chatbot is based on OpenAI’s GPT-4o and is being rolled out to 15,000 users after an early trial where nearly seven-in-ten users said the chatbot was helpful.

The early trial did encounter some issues, with GPT-4o generating some “hallucinations.” Some of these were described as “challenging, or abusive, or even seductive”, according to Paul Willmott, chair of the government’s Central Digital and Data Office.

Users were reassured that the bot had improved accuracy significantly since then. The team has been working with subject matter experts at HMRC to score the accuracy of the chatbot's answers, assess AI answers against example answers and monitor and flag inaccurate or inappropriate answers.