AI use widened to assess universal credit applications and tackle fraud
Department of Work and Pensions warned by auditor general about potential bias in algorithms
The government has widened its deployment of artificial intelligence to uncover welfare fraud, despite warnings of algorithmic bias against groups of vulnerable claimants.
In a £70m investment applying “advanced analytics” to requests for universal credit (UC), the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has extended the use of machine learning as it attempts to save more than £1bn from the £8bn-plus lost to fraud and error last year,
audit documents scrutinised by the Guardian reveal.
The project does not appear to have been formally announced by the government, which has been accused of being secretive about AI in the welfare system. If extended, it has the potential to reach many of the 5.9 million people who claim UC.
After a trial last year using automated software to flag up potential fraudsters seeking UC cash advances, similar technology has now been developed and piloted to scan welfare applications made by people living together, self-employed people, and those wanting housing support, as well as to assess the
claims people make about their personal capital such as savings.
Welfare rights organisations and UN experts have previously said that extending the UK’s “digital by default” welfare system with machine learning without greater transparency risks creating serious problems for some benefit claimants.
https://www.theguardian.com/society...sess-universal-credit-applications-and-tackle