UK govt's use of AI for immigration, crime flagged as discriminatory

tech.hindustantimes.com:

The artificial intelligence (AI) wave has swept the world, with nearly every sector adopting this technology. Over the last few months, we've seen several use cases of AI in fields such as education, finance, healthcare and even agriculture. While this technology is proving its mettle in some areas by allowing to get the work done more efficiently, it has also led to a series of issues pertaining to false information and hallucinations. While world governments are drafting regulations around this technology, it is still being used widely, leading to discriminatory results.

According to a report by the Guardian, UK government officials are leveraging AI for various tasks. From flagging up sham marriages to deciding on which pensioners get benefits, the involvement of AI is proving to be useful. However, it is also leading to discriminatory results. One of the cases highlighted by the Guardian's investigation involved the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) which used an algorithm that wrongly led to the removal of benefits for dozens of people, according to an MP.

In another instance, the UK Home Office has been using an AI algorithm to flag up sham marriages but it is flagging up certain nationalities more prominently. An AI face recognition tool used by the Metropolitan Police has also been accused of making more mistakes while recognizing black faces than white ones.

These are life-changing decisions made with the help of AI, a technology that has been prone to creating false facts and hallucinating in the past. While the UK PM Rishi Sunak recently said that the adoption of AI could transform public infrastructure “from saving teachers hundreds of hours of time spent lesson planning to helping NHS patients get quicker