Data science holds enormous potential to help governments in the aftermath of crises like pandemics and wars, a new white paper from The Alan Turing Institute’s AI for Science and Government (ASG) programme has found.
However, the researchers say that data-intensive technologies should not just automate or replicate what humans can already do well, but rather should do things which people cannot.
The paper argues that a reform of the use of data science is needed, to ensure governments are well placed to adapt and deal with shocks.
The report offers five recommendations for building resilience into government using data science. These are:
- Create ethical frameworks that apply the principals of fairness, accountability, sustainability and transparency to data science in government
- Invest in data infrastructure and models that inform rapid decision making during a crisis
- Use models that can help rigorously assess the impact of different policy interventions
- Use collective modelling methods, where each model uses a different approach to tackle a difficult problem
- Share tools, techniques and knowledge between disciplines, and identify
- where information and methods developed in one domain can be applied in another
The recommendations are based on findings from projects in the ‘Shocks and Resilience’ theme within the ASG programme, developed in partnership with the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).
Professor Ben McArthur, Director of AI for Science and Government at The Alan Turing Institute and paper author, said: “Governments all over the world are faced with healthcare, social, economic and environmental challenges. Data science can boost governments’ ability to cope with these challenges by collecting, linking and modelling data, and mediating between different areas of human expertise. In this paper we have proposed a vision for how these tools can contribute to more resilient government and policymaking.”
Professor Helen Margetts, Director of the Public Policy Programme at The Alan Turing Institute and paper author, said: “Shocks such as energy crises, pandemics, natural disasters, or conflicts often reveal weaknesses in policy-making systems. We hope the recommendations in this paper will help governments to prepare for dealing with future crises. Data science can support policymakers with specialist expertise in making robust and resilient decisions in the heat of a crisis.”
