Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, for what purposes the Environment Agency has used artificial intelligence in the last 12 months.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is at the heart of the Government’s plan to kickstart an era of economic growth, transform how we deliver public services, and boost living standards for working people across the country.

The Environment Agency uses artificial intelligence for a number of purposes:

• We use ‘Hello Lamp Post’, an AI powered chat bot to support our work by sharing information with the public about our role, the benefits our assets provide, information specific to our flood defence projects, and to engage the public in conversations about resilience and adaptation to flooding and coastal change.

• We have been part of Microsoft Copilot trials investigating the role it can play in achieving productivity gains across the Environment Agency.

• We also have several ongoing theoretical investigations and practical pilot projects to explore further uses of AI and Machine Learning within the Environment Agency.

We draw from a range of existing government guidance to inform our usage and development of AI solutions. This includes the AI playbook for UK Government, Ethics, Transparency and Accountability Framework, the Data Ethics Framework, the AI Opportunities Action Plan and the Algorithmic Transparency Recording Standard.

We also have access to the Government Digital Service, part of the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology, for expert advice.