Data (Use and Access) Bill [HL]

Debate between Lord Holmes of Richmond and Lord Lucas

Committee stage
Monday 16th December 2024 Grand Committee

[Lord Lucas (Con)]

My Lords, my Amendment 115 would similarly act in that way by making automated decision-making processes explain themselves to the people affected by them. This would be a much better way of controlling the quality of what is going on with automated decision-making than restricting that sort of information to professionals—to people who are anyway overworked and have a lot of other things to do. There is no one more interested in the decision of an automated process than the person about whom it is being made. If we are to trust these systems then their ability, which is way beyond the human ability, to have the time to explain why they took the decision they did—which, if the machine is any good, it knows and can easily set out—is surely the way to generate trust: you can absolutely see what decision has been made and why, and you can respond to it.

This would, beyond anything else, produce a much better system for our young people when they apply for their first job. My daughter’s friends in that position are getting into the hundreds of unexplained rejections. This is not a good way to treat young people. It does not help them to improve and understand what is going on. I completely understand why firms do not explain; they have so many applications that they just do not have the time or the personnel to sit down and write a response—but that does not apply to an automated decision-making machine. It could produce a much better situation when it comes to hiring.

As I said, my principal concern, to echo that of the noble Viscount, is that it would give us sight of the decisions that have been taken and why. If it becomes evident that they are taken well and for good reasons, we shall learn to trust them. If it becomes evident that they really are not fair or understandable, we shall be in a position to demand changes.

[Lord Holmes of Richmond (Con)]

My Lords, it is a pleasure to take part in the debate on this group. I support the spirit of all the amendments debated thus far.

Speaking of spirits, and it being the season, I have more than a degree of sympathy for the Minister. With so many references to her previous work, this Christmas is turning into a bit of the Ghost of Amendments Past for her. That is good, because all the amendments she put down in the past were of an excellent quality, well thought through, equally considered and even-handed.

As has been mentioned many times, we have had three versions of a data Bill so far over just over three years. One wonders whether all the elements of this current draft have kept up with what has happened in the outside world over those three years, not least when it comes to artificial intelligence. This goes to the heart of the amendments in this group on automated decision-making.

When the first of these data Bills emerged, ADM was present—but relatively discreetly present—in our society and our economy. Now it would be fair to say that it proliferates across many areas of our economy and our society, often in situations where people find themselves at the sharpest end of the economy and the sharpest end of these automated decisions, often without even knowing that ADM was present. More than that, even on the discovery that ADM was in the mix, depending on which sector of the economy or society they find that decision being made in, they may find themselves with no or precious little redress—employment and recruitment, to name but one sector.

It being the season, it is high time when it comes to ADM that we start to talk turkey. In all the comments thus far, we are talking not just about ADM but about the principles that should underpin all elements of artificial intelligence—that is, they should be human led. These technologies should be in our human hands, with our human values feeding into human oversight: human in the loop and indeed, where appropriate, human over the loop.

That goes to elements in my two amendments in this group, Amendments 123A and 123B. Amendment 123A simply posits, through a number of paragraphs, the point that if someone is subject to an automated decision then they have the right to a personalised explanation of that decision. That explanation should be accessible in its being in plain language of their choice, not having a cost attached to it and not being in any sense technically or technologically convoluted or opaque. That would be relatively straightforward to achieve, but the positive impact for all those citizens would certainly be more than material.

Amendment 123B goes to the heart of those humans charged with the delivery of these personalised explanations. It is not enough to simply say that there are individuals within an organisation responsible for the provision of personalised explanations for automated decisions; it is critical that those individuals have the training, the capabilities and, perhaps most importantly, the authority within that organisation to make a meaningful impact regarding those personalised explanations. If not, this measure may have a small voice but would have absolutely no teeth when it comes to the citizen.

In short, ADM is proliferating so we need to ensure that we have a symmetrical situation for citizens, for consumers, and for anyone who finds themselves in any domain or sector of our economy and society. We must assert the principles: human-led, human in the loop, “Our decisions, our data”, and “We determine, we decide, we choose”. That is how I believe we can have an effective, positive, enabling and empowering AI future. I look forward to the Minister’s comments.