UK PM says AI should soon replace civil servants

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AI should be used to do some worker's jobs better

UK Prime Minister Sir Kier Starmer
(Image credit: Shutterstock / Sean Aidan Calderbank)
  • UK PM is set to announce new digital reforms to the civil service
  • AI could replace some workers in new digital 'mantra'
  • New jobs will be created while cutting underperformers

UK Prime Minister Sir Kier Starmer has said that some civil servants could be replaced by AI as the PM is set to announce a new digital mantra.

The mantra states that “No person’s substantive time should be spent on a task where digital or AI can do it better, quicker, and to the same high quality and standard.”

In a speech to be given today, Starmer will announce that over £45 billion could be saved by introducing new digital tools and reforms to Whitehall - before even introducing any AI to the service.

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The PM will also announce the creation of 2,000 tech apprenticeship positions, and reductions in regulations and the involvement of some ‘quangos’ - quasi-non-governmental-organizations - which are typically government funded bodies with some devolved power, which Starmer claims have created a “cottage industry of checkers and blockers slowing down delivery for working people.”

Unions have voiced some skepticism about the Prime Minister’s plans, with Mike Clancy, general secretary of the Prospect union, stating, “Civil servants are not hostile to reforms, but these must be undertaken in partnership with staff and unions.”

“I urge everyone in government to avoid the incendiary rhetoric and tactics we are seeing in the United States, and to be clear that reforms are about enhancing not undermining the civil service,” Clancy continued.

Civil servants have faced years of productivity-related accusations. The Prime Minister sent a letter to millions of civil servants earlier this week that said, “Each one of you must be enabled to re-focus on your core purpose, away from the things that hamper your day to day work, delivering excellent, high-performing public services that improve people's lives.”

The letter, pitched as part of the Prime Minister’s plans to improve performance while cutting staff numbers, continued, “We know many of you feel shackled by bureaucracy, frustrated by inefficiency and unable to harness new technology. Your talent has been constrained for too long.”

Via The Guardian

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Benedict Collins
Benedict Collins
Senior Writer, Security

Benedict is a Senior Security Writer at TechRadar Pro, where he has specialized in covering the intersection of geopolitics, cyber-warfare, and business security.

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