Trust by Design: Building Confidence in AI-Powered Public Services
Guest blog by Sadie Burgess, Marketing Manager at e-shot #techUKSmarterState
Sadie Burgess
Marketing Manager, e-shot
In an age of smart services, data-driven insights and artificial intelligence, public sector organisations have a variety of new tools at their disposal. Councils can now predict service demand, automate form-filling and prioritise resources — all in real time. But with this growing power comes a critical challenge:maintaining public trust.
As the UK government and local authorities push ahead with digital transformation, trust has quietly become the corner stone of a smarter state. Without it, innovation stalls. Data remains unused or siloed. Promising technologies provoke suspicion rather than progress.
Trust isn’t a ‘nice-to-have’ — it’s a necessary enabler. And as recent history has unfortunately shown, it can easily be lost.
The trust gap: When smart isn’t fair
The public sector’s adoption of data and AI hasn’t always gone smoothly. In the last few years, high-profile failures — from algorithmic grading in education to inaccessible decision-making tools in social services — have eroded confidence in how public bodies use technology.
Even well-intentioned initiatives can generate unease. Facial recognition pilots in policing, predictive analytics in welfare, and smart city surveillance programmes have all faced pushback from communities. People are concerned, sometimes even suspicious: Who benefits from the insight? What happens when the machine gets it wrong?
The smarter the state becomes, the more vital it is to design for transparency, fairness and inclusion from the outset.
Designing for trust: What it means
Building a smarter state doesn’t just mean more tech. It means building public legitimacy into the way services are designed, data is used, and decisions are made.
Designing for trust means:
Making systems understandable, not mysterious.
Transparency is key – explain the process; avoid ‘computer says no’.
Embedding fairness into algorithms, not just accuracy.
Engaging communities in the design of technologies that affect them.
It’s not just about complying with legal standards, like the Data Use and Access Act 2025. It’s about earning and sustaining the support and trust of the populace to operate in the digital era.
The opportunity:
When citizens trust public institutions, they are more likely to engage with the system, share their data, use digital services, and accept AI-assisted decisions. Trust creates the conditions for scaling innovation, especially in sensitive areas like health, social care, housing, and criminal justice.
Several examples show what’s possible:
London Borough of Camden has built a strong reputation for ethical data use through its Camden Data Charter, co-developed with residents. It sets clear expectations about how data is used, who can access it, and what safeguards are in place.
Manchester City Council has piloted AI-assisted social care triage with explainability and frontline staff involvement baked in from the start — helping to improve outcomes without compromising judgement or transparency.
The Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation has supported local pilots with built-in ethical oversight, encouraging iterative learning rather than top-down imposition.
These are encouraging signs — but for the smarter state to take root, this approach needs to become the rule, not the exception.
Three ways to embed trust in smart public services
1. Governance: Ethics by design
Ethical principles must move from the boardroom to operational reality. This means:
Establishing ethical review boards for AI and data projects.
Publishing impact assessments, in plain language, for citizens to review.
Ensuring algorithms are auditable and explainable — not just to technical stakeholders, but to frontline staff and service users.
Trust comes not just from doing the right thing, but from being seen to do it — consistently, transparently, and accountably.
2. Participation: Co-designing with the public
Smart services must be shaped with, not just for, the communities they serve. This includes:
Involving service users — especially vulnerable groups — in the design and testing of digital tools.
Running forums or consultations to explore public views on contentious technologies.
Using inclusive language and accessible formats to widen participation in digital decision-making.
When people feel heard, they're more likely to engage. When they shape the rules, they’re more likely to trust the system.
3. Communication: Telling the story of technology
Public understanding of AI and data remains low — and often shaped by sensationalist and dystopian media narratives. The public sector must take responsibility for:
Explaining how and why digital systems are used — not just through policy documents, but through engaging, visual, human-centred storytelling.
Being honest about limitations, not just selling benefits.
Empowering frontline workers to answer citizen questions confidently and clearly.
Smart communication is just as important as smart technology.
The Role of Leadership: Setting the tone from the top
Public trust is not something that IT teams or digital departments can deliver in isolation. It must be championed by leaders at every level — elected officials, chief executives, commissioners and heads of service.
It means creating cultures of ethical curiosity, where questions about bias, inclusion, or harm are welcomed — not dismissed as blockers.
It means rewarding teams that build things responsibly, with care, not just speed.
A Smarter State is one people trust
As the government invests in AI, automation and digital services, it must not lose sight of the human foundation that underpins them all: trust.
A smarter state isn’t just more efficient — it’s judged and measure by engagement by being more transparent, inclusive and responsive. It listens as well as acts. It earns its legitimacy every day.
This is not a constraint on innovation. It’s the key to unlocking it.
Because if citizens don’t trust the systems they’re offered, they won’t use them. And no amount of data science can fix that.
Let’s build a smarter state that earns — and deserves — the trust of every citizen it serves.
techUK's Building the Smarter State Week 2025 #techUKSmarterState2025
Welcome to Building the Smarter State Week 2025 running from the 8-12 September!
The techUK Central Government Programme provides a forum for government to engage with tech suppliers. We advocate for the govtech sector, evangelise tech as a solution to public sector challenges, facilitate market engagement, and help make the public sector an easier market to operate in. Visit the programme page here.
Building the Smarter State 2025 10 September
Building the Smarter State is techUK’s flagship public services conference and the go-to event for public sector digital leaders. The annual event welcomes over 200 senior leaders and decisions makers from across the public sector and the technology industry to showcase how technology is shaping today's and tomorrow’s public services.
Our members develop strong networks, build meaningful partnerships and grow their businesses as we all work together to create a thriving environment where industry, government and stakeholders come together to realise the positive outcomes tech can deliver.
Associate Director, Central Government and Education, techUK
Heather Cover-Kus
Associate Director, Central Government and Education, techUK
Heather is Associate Director, Central Government and Education at techUK, working to represent the tech supplier community to Central Government.
She started as Head of Central Government at techUK in April 2022 and was promoted to Associate Director in August 2025 supporting both the Central Government and Education programmes.
Prior to joining techUK in April 2022, Heather worked in the Economic Policy and Small States Section at the Commonwealth Secretariat. She led the organisation’s FinTech programme and worked to create an enabling environment for developing countries to take advantage of the socio-economic benefits of FinTech.
Before moving to the UK, Heather worked at the Office of the Prime Minister of The Bahamas and the Central Bank of The Bahamas.
Heather holds a Graduate Diploma in Law from BPP, a Masters in Public Administration (MPA) from LSE, and a BA in Economics and Sociology from Macalester College.
Ellie joined techUK in March 2018 as a Programme Assistant to the Public Sector team and now works as a Programme Manager for the Central Government Programme.
The programme represents the supplier community of technology products and services in Central Government – in summary working to make Government a more informed buyer, increasing supplier visibility in order to improve their chances of supplying to Government Departments, and fostering better engagement between the public sector and industry. To find out more about what we do, how we do this and how you can get involved – make sure to get in touch!
Prior to joining techUK, Ellie completed Sixth Form in June 2015 and went on to work in Waitrose, moved on swiftly to walking dogs and finally, got an office job working for a small local business in North London, where she lives with her family and their two Bengal cats Kai and Nova.
When she isn’t working Ellie likes to spend time with her family and friends, her cats, and enjoys volunteering for diabetes charities. She has a keen interest in writing, escaping with a good book and expanding her knowledge watching far too many quiz shows!
Junior Programme Manager - Central Government, techUK
Charles Bauman
Junior Programme Manager - Central Government, techUK
Charles Bauman is a Junior Programme Manager in the Central Government Programme at techUK.
He supports the programme’s mission to represent the technology supplier community to the UK government and advocate for digital innovation to address public sector challenges. Charles helps facilitate market engagement, foster partnerships, and ensure that tech suppliers and the government work collaboratively to improve outcomes, deliver value for money, and enhance public services for citizens.
Before joining techUK, Charles gained significant experience in research, analysis, and strategic advisory roles. At H/Advisors Cicero, he specialised in public affairs and corporate communications, while at Verdantix, he supported sustainability research and advisory projects, focusing on regulatory and environmental challenges.
Charles holds an MSc in Theory and History of International Relations from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and an MA in Medieval History from King’s College London.
Charles enjoys volunteering with a think tank, reading, hiking, and spending time with his dog and family outside of work.
Programme Team Assistant for Public Sector Markets, techUK
Francesca Richiusa
Programme Team Assistant for Public Sector Markets, techUK
Fran serves as the Programme Team Assistant within techUK’s Public Sector Market Programmes, where she is responsible for delivering comprehensive team support, managing administrative functions, and fostering strong relationships with members.
Prior to joining techUK in May 2025, Fran built a meaningful career in the charitable and local government sectors. She worked extensively with both victims and perpetrators of crime, and notably led the coordination of Domestic Homicide Reviews across Surrey—an initiative aimed at identifying lessons and preventing future incidents of domestic abuse.
Outside of work, Fran is an avid traveller and a proud cat mum who enjoys unwinding with her feline companions.
