The British government’s artificial intelligence (AI) tool, called Humphrey, leverages technology from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google, sparking concerns about the UK’s increasing dependence on big tech.
Ministers are invested in implementing AI across public sectors to enhance efficiency, with plans to provide all civil service members in England and Wales with AI training. Despite not having comprehensive commercial agreements with tech giants, the government uses a pay-as-you-go model through existing cloud contracts.
Opponents worry about the pace and extent of integrating big tech’s AI into government operations, particularly as there’s ongoing public controversy over the technology’s use of copyrighted materials. A recent bill allowing the use of copyrighted material without the rights holder’s consent has stirred a backlash among artists.
Through a freedom of information request, it has been revealed that tools such as Consult, Lex, and Parlex utilize base models from Open AI’s GPT, while the Redbox tool uses Open AI GPT, Anthropic’s Claude, and Google Gemini. This exacerbates concerns about potential conflicts of interest and regualtory issues.
Ed Newton-Rex, CEO of Fairly Trained, who opposes the training of AI on copyrighted material, criticizes the government for embedding big tech into its core functions too swiftly.
There are also apprehensions about the accuracy of AI models, with call for transparency and caution to avoid the pitfalls of past technology blunders, like the Horizon IT system misjudgments. Consequentially, the AI playbook for government provides guidance to mitigate such risks.
While the initial costs of incorporating AI in government operations may be high, officials note that AI pricing is declining, and it has already proven to save time and money in certain applications.
A spokesperson for the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology affirms that AI’s potential benefits in streamlining public services do not compromise its regulatory capabilities, drawing parallels with the NHS’s balancing act of procuring and regulating medicines.
AI technology’s development is underway, with smaller tech startups standing to gain from changes in tech spending strategies.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/jun/15/government-roll-out-humphrey-ai-tool-reliance-big-tech
