DWP AI switch will lead to 'faster identification of fraud' in crackdown

The Department for Work and Pensions has been urged to deploy artificial intelligence (AI) in a massive shake-up. The Tony Blair Institute, named after the former Labour Party leader and Prime Minister, has made the recommendations in a new report.

The Institute's report, Governing in the Age of AI: Reimagining the UK Department for Work and Pensions details how even “the largest, most complex departments such as the DWP can be transformed” in the age of AI. It said embracing AI is necessary to “get to grips with the high costs and ineffectiveness of the DWP.”

The report warns DWP systems are "more like a sticky spider’s web. Instead of receiving support when they need it and help to move forward, citizens find themselves trapped in a system that is slow, inefficient and does not tackle the root causes of need.”

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“The day-to-day tasks of the DWP – those it shares with other departments, such as paperwork or policy design, and those unique to it, such as the operation of job centres – can all be performed faster, better and at less cost using AI,” it said.

“At the moment, the DWP’s operating model is bureaucratic and reliant on complicated forms and paperwork. It is labour-intensive, which means it struggles to respond to citizens’ changing needs, and beset by backlogs and delays. Fraud and error cost the department close to £9 billion a year,” said the report.

“But a different model is possible.” The DWP is told to use AI to improve application and eligibility-assessment processes and reduce backlogs, as well as help see if claimants can "find the right job or training to progress in their career and gain financial independence."

It will also lead to "faster identification of error and fraud," the report said. “A well-functioning DWP would create more security, opportunity and prosperity for every citizen. The only way to achieve this is for the new government to embrace the opportunity of AI and show in practice what it means to govern well in the age of AI,” it said.