ICO confirms AI use by UK public officials is subject to FOI

In an announcement that we missed last month, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) published new guidance clarifying that content produced by UK public bodies using artificial intelligence (AI) is subject to freedom of information laws. The guidance states that if staff use AI for work purposes, both the generated information and the prompts used are within the scope of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The clarification follows a successful request by New Scientist for a minister's ChatGPT logs.

In an article by New Scientist (£) discussing the guidelines, data protection experts suggest the guidance ensures that AI interactions are treated like any other recorded information held by a public authority. 

"It will be very difficult for public authorities now to claim that AI-related requests are not subject to FOIA. The ICO guidance is generally sensible, and won't come as a surprise to most practitioners, said Jon Baines, before adding: "If information is ‘held’ in a recorded form by a public authority, wherever, and on whatever system, it is subject in principle to FOIA – so that must also apply to inputs to and outputs of AI systems and tools."

Meanwhile, Tim Tuner commented that "it should be uncontroversial. If records are captured by a public servant doing their job, they’re in scope. That should be true for AI interactions and Post-it notes alike.”

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Training Announcement: The BCS Practitioner Certificate in Freedom of Information offers an in-depth examination of the legislation, codes of practice, frameworks, standards, and ethics concerning the right to request recorded information held by public authorities in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Find out more.