Building trust and transforming public service with AI

Guest blog by Ali Bovis, Digital Advisor for Public Sector at Version 1 #techUKSmarterState

Ali Bovis

Digital Advisor for Public Sector, Version 1

For decades, the public's trust in government services has been on a slow decline. But a quiet revolution is underway, powered by artificial intelligence, that could finally reverse the trend. The IMF estimates that AI can boost productivity by up to 1.5 percentage points annually, potentially worth £47 billion to the UK over a decade. However, the public sector faces a fundamental challenge: the absolute necessity of trust.

Unlike private sector failures that cost revenue, AI failures in public services directly impact vulnerable citizens' lives. This demands a fundamentally different approach, one that prioritises responsible development and trust building as the foundation for expanded capability.

Establishing trust – The CAFCASS example

The UK ranks third in the Government AI Readiness Index, but ranking highly and successfully implementing AI responsibly are different challenges. CAFCASS (Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service) demonstrates how public sector organisations can harness AI's power whilst building essential trust.

CAFCASS faced a significant challenge: 1,500 Family Court Advisors supporting over 140,000 children annually, producing 80,000 letters monthly to help children understand complex legal processes. The opportunity was clear, but the imperative to implement safely was paramount. Getting communication wrong with vulnerable families was not an option.

Rather than pursuing ambitious transformation, CAFCASS chose a measured approach. Working closely with Family Court Advisors and in partnership with us, they co-designed AI-Scribe: a focused solution embedded directly into their ChildFirst case management system. This collaborative methodology was crucial, as involving practitioners from the outset addressed real needs whilst building user confidence.

AI-Scribe's capabilities were carefully scoped to deliver value whilst maintaining strict quality controls. The system automatically drafts communications from case data, adapts content to children's reading levels, translates into over 100 languages, and creates audio versions. Crucially, these capabilities operate within defined parameters, with human oversight maintaining ultimate responsibility.

The results demonstrate responsible AI implementation: AI-Scribe is estimated to save up to 60,000 advisor hours annually, all released back to frontline work. More significantly; it does this whilst providing clearer, more accessible communication that reduces stress for children and families.

Expanding capability through proven trust

AI-Scribe has started to establish crucial trust amongst advisors, management, and families. This foundation is proving invaluable as our team works with CAFCASS to explore new opportunities to improve.

Document summarisation represents one area of exploration. CAFCASS handles tens of thousands of cases annually, each supported by documents that can sometimes contain hundreds of pages. These often contain critical insights that require rapid understanding for case allocation and assessment planning.

We're also exploring digital genogram creation. Tools that visualise family networks and relationships. When social workers conduct direct work with children, they need child-friendly outputs that explain complex family relationships.

These represent just a few possibilities amongst many. The strong foundation established by AI-Scribe demonstrates a crucial principle: once trust is earned and foundations are in place, organisations can progressively add new AI capabilities to amplify their impact. Starting with focused, manageable challenges rather than attempting to solve complex problems immediately allows building confidence and expertise incrementally.

Realising AI's opportunities

PublicFirst highlighted 61% of public administration workers report increased overwork, with 70% saying morale has decreased. Meanwhile, two-thirds of managers agree AI will change public sector operations forever, but just 12% have significantly deployed AI tools. This gap represents both challenge and opportunity.

Our collaborative approach demonstrates sustainable AI implementation. The same principles that made AI-Scribe successful, collaborative design with practitioners, integration with existing systems, human oversight, and prioritising trust, are being applied to document summarisation and genogram creation.

Both capabilities can leverage the same secure, scalable AI infrastructure developed for AI-Scribe, with similar authentication, data handling, and quality processes. This exemplifies systematic capability building.

Building trust for transformation

Our journey with CAFCASS demonstrates that AI's power in public services extends beyond technology. It's about building sustainable trust that enables continuous innovation. By starting with focused, well-executed implementations, they've created the foundation for expanding AI capabilities whilst maintaining responsible approaches.

AI's opportunities are genuinely transformative. Beyond efficiency gains, AI can make public services more accessible, personalised, and responsive. From multi-language communications breaking down barriers, to intelligent document analysis surfacing critical insights, to automated processes freeing professionals for direct citizen engagement, the potential is extraordinary.

This partnership offers a blueprint for responsible AI implementation across the public sector. Rather than wholesale transformation, success lies in identifying specific, high-value use cases, implementing them with rigorous attention to user needs and safety, and using early successes to build trust for broader adoption.

Organisations that successfully harness AI's power will prioritise trust building alongside technological advancement. Through responsible, trust centred approaches like our partnership with CAFCASS, we can deliver better outcomes for citizens whilst building confidence to seize AI's full potential for public service transformation.

Reference links:

https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/Issues/2024/04/16/world-economic-outlook-april-2024

https://oxfordinsights.com/ai-readiness/ai-readiness-index/

https://www.publicfirst.co.uk/generative-ai-public-sector.html

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