Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, to what extent their Department makes use of artificial intelligence in the implementation of its policies; and how much was spent from their Department’s budget on artificial intelligence in each of the last three years.

The Department uses elements of automation, robotics, and machine learning, although much of the work remains experimental. Most of the automation that has been developed is for internal use and is aimed at improving operational processes across the Department, not directly to aid implementation of policies. Automation and robotics work is used to reduce the administrative burden brought about from back office processes and the processes involved in exchanging data and information with providers, employers, and other Government Departments. Machine learning is used as a technique to inform an evidence base. Neither our robotics, automation, or machine learning work are used in isolation to make decisions and do not drive decisions or actions directly or in an automated fashion.