ORG paper calls for public sector to align AI adoption with human rights

New research by the Open Rights Group (ORG) warns that the UK government is prioritising political optics over public interest in its rush to adopt artificial intelligence (AI) across the public sector.

The paper argues that the current approach cements reliance on foreign capital and market-dominant technology companies, in particular US-based providers, leaving public services vulnerable to external economic and technological coercion. Without meaningful scrutiny, deploying such technologies exposes citizens to substantial risks, while unfairly shifting the burden of challenging unlawful or harmful systems onto individuals rather than the state and its commercial partners.

To safeguard human rights, ORG is calling for institutional reform. Its recommendations include establishing an independent regulatory authority with statutory enforcement powers and direct accountability to Parliament. The report proposes mandatory pre-deployment impact assessments evaluating data protection and equality duties, periodic algorithmic auditing, mandatory incident reporting, and sunset clauses on systems presenting high human rights risks. 

Furthermore, the paper calls for strict use-case authorisations that require formal re-evaluation before tools can be repurposed. ORG also recommends reforming public procurement to prevent vendor lock-in, ensure contract transparency, and support open-source alternatives.

Training Announcement: The BCS Foundation Certificate in AI examines the challenges and risks associated with AI projects, such as those related to privacy, transparency and potential biases in algorithms that could lead to unintended consequences. Explore the role of data, effective risk management strategies, compliance requirements, and ongoing governance of the AI lifecycle and become a certified AI Governance professional. Find out more.