The government has claimed the use of AI among its coders has save the equivalent of almost a month per year, following the results of a trial.
British public services have been heavily encouraged by central government to embrace AI in the name of efficiency.
Among the recent efforts in public sector AI has been the launch of Humphrey, a Whitehall AI assistant for ministers and civil servants.
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) has claimed a trial of the use of AI agents by government coders has saved roughly an hour per working day.
For too long, essential public services have been slow to use new technology – we have a lot of catching up to do. These results show that our engineers are hungry to use AI to get that work done more quickly, and know how to use it safely,” said Kanishka Narayan, the recently appointed technology minister.
“This is exactly how I want us to use AI and other technology to make sure we are delivering the standard of public services people expect – both in terms of accuracy and efficiency. With a £45bn jackpot at stake, it’s not an opportunity we can pass up, as it can help cut backlogs and save money.”
The trials are being conducted across 50 government departments in partnership with top AI developers, including Microsoft and Google.
“We are thrilled to see the positive impact Gemini Code Assist has had on government developers, enabling them to accelerate innovation and deliver better public services more efficiently,” said Google Cloud’s EMEA president Tara Brady.
“This landmark trial, the largest of its kind for Gemini Code Assist in the UK public sector, underscores the transformative potential of AI in enhancing productivity and problem-solving for coding professionals, and highlights the successful collaboration stemming from Google Cloud’s Strategic Partnership Agreement with the UK government.”
