Don’t be fooled. The AI that was supposed to save us time is doing just the opposite
The government says it can transform the state with AI, but it is no match for the resulting stream of machine-generated slop. And we all pay the cost
TL;DR
- AI adoption in public services has led to an unusual surge in complaints, requests, and responses, as the public uses AI tools like ChatGPT.
- Employment tribunal cases have risen due to claimants using AI to draft claims, and people without lawyers are using AI to build cases that often lack sense.
- Government departments are drowning in AI-generated freedom of information requests, and MPs' offices are swamped by AI-generated letters.
- The ease of AI interaction with the state risks creating an uncontrollable firehose of meaningless machine-generated content, potentially rendering public consultations useless.
- Using AI to filter AI-generated content is not always effective, especially when dealing with potentially vulnerable individuals.
- Employers using AI to sift job applications face similar issues as applicants automate their submissions, leading to an unmanageable volume of applications.
- The widespread adoption of AI agents could turn time-saving shortcuts into bottlenecks, much like traffic congestion in cities.
- Historically, humans develop ways to overcome self-made problems, suggesting potential future solutions for AI-induced issues, but for now, 'more isn't always better'.