Generative AI could save up to 40% of public sector workers' time

New research conducted by the Alan Turing Institute, the Department for Transport (DfT), and the Office for National Statistics (ONS) suggests that generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) could ease the workload of time-pressed public sector employees by as much as 40%. 

The reported benefits would vary across different sectors, with education workers potentially seeing the most significant impact, as up to 49% of their time spent on teaching activities could be supported by GenAI. Healthcare professionals, while experiencing less benefit, could still see a substantial 33% of their time supported. 

GenAI is found to be particularly useful for roles with high levels of administrative tasks. However, the report cautions that GenAI implementation requires careful consideration, especially for decisions that directly impact an individual's liberties and well-being, such as welfare access. Other activities involving sensitive information and data may not be appropriate for full AI support. The study found that 38% of frontline workers' activities and 46% of non-frontline workers could be supported. Despite the potential of GenAI, researchers stress that the benefits may not always outweigh the need for human involvement, judgment, and discretion, particularly in roles such as doctors and nurses that require high levels of human interaction and have little room for error.

In related news, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) has published the results of a 3-month GenAI trial of Microsoft 365 Copilot involving 20,000 civil servants, which found that the technology saved users an average of 26 minutes per day. Over 12 months, the daily savings add up to two weeks' worth of time.