In the new budget plans, Northeast council workers are being told to incorporate AI into their work as a means to save money which hopes to close a £37 million deficit across the next three years. As well as the loss of 75 jobs at the civic centre, there are concerns about how reliant public services are becoming on artificial intelligence.
These concerns are based on errors which AI is prone to making within social work records, such as stating indications of their being suicidal thoughts when performing meeting summaries which The Guardian reported across 17 English and Scottish councils.
s humans, we have no say in what the decision of AI comes to and what answer it produces thus, why does the council feel it is okay to use a piece of software which is prone to error?
Councillor Kane, who represents the Dewsbury East Ward, stated his worries for an increasing dependence on AI; alongside the environmental impacts many people do not always recognise that AI is not always right. Similarly, the Ouseburn councillor contributed with his concerns stating: “we say we train it, but it trains itself”. As humans, we have no say in what the decision of AI comes to and what answer it produces thus, why does the council feel it is okay to use a piece of software which is prone to error?
Other concerns about the increasing of AI within Newcastle Council also includes the amount of water and energy required to power AI data centres. The planned data centre in Northumberland, which will cost £10 billion, will require 8 separate electricity lines, 55 diesel-powered generators- which will act as emergency power supplies- and cooling systems which act to keep computers at the right temperature. Does the cost of this outweigh the benefits it will create by closing the £37 million deficit? I am not sure.
Personally, I think using AI is something as a population we cannot hide from anymore. I believe we should learn to grow with it and become educated on how to make the most out of it as it is something which is not going to disappear any time soon. But saying this, I don’t know how comfortable I feel with my local council adopting it to benefit decisions (when it has been proved to make errors) and save costs which mean the jobs of others are lost.