The UK government has declared that it will “take a ‘test and learn’ approach with spending on AI and digital to push innovation.” Staged funding, mission-driven prioritization, and outcome metrics — the civil service bringing some Silicon Valley mentality to play. In theory, I like it. In practice … hold that thought for now.

The complex relationship between the UK government, big tech, transparency, and trust has been in the headlines over the last few weeks. If you’ve missed it, myself and Enza Iannopollo have been blogging almost weekly to help try to make sense of the rapidly emerging landscape. We’ve been invoking some classical and mythological imagery, and I’m drawn back to Odysseus testing and learning his way across the Aegean Islands on his voyage home from Troy.

But this week, I’m jettisoning the classics for something more visceral. So to help you catch up, here’s a fast-paced 3-minute London punk playlist. Buckle up:

Track 1: London Calling

We started in mid-February by outlining how the UK government is ready to embrace AI; without trust, however, it risks disaster. Together with the US, the UK refused to sign an international agreement on AI at the global AI Action Summit in Paris, saying it failed to address global AI governance issues and leaves questions on national security unanswered.

It simultaneously announced a partnership with Anthropic and the launch of a government AI playbook. Turn it up.

Track 2: My Way

As we dug further, it became apparent that, despite the UK government’s ambition to create an AI innovation hub and power public service transformation, a key part of the strategy was missing: guidelines for how to build trusted AI. While the EU AI Act clearly articulates prohibited, high, and low risk levels in AI use cases, the UK guidance shrugs its shoulders and leaves civil servants to do it their way.

Track 3: Pretty Vacant

Next, Apple announced that it was withdrawing Advanced Data Protection for UK users, removing end-to-end encryption of users’ data, files, photos, and messages in order to comply with the UK government’s demands to be able to access all of a user’s data (under certain circumstances). Given the low levels of trust that UK citizens have in their government compared to many other countries, this wasn’t a good look for Westminster or Apple.

Track 4: I Fought The Law

But then Apple decided to fight the power and took the case to an Investigatory Powers Tribunal. Ramping up its transparency play outside the UK, it also took the decision to remove or retain its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies to its shareholders.

Transparency Is At The Heart Of Trust

You’d be forgiven for having missed some of these “shenanigans.” But wait: In a “death of irony” kind of moment, New Scientist applied a healthy dose of transparency last week when it used a freedom-of-information request to reveal how the UK tech secretary uses ChatGPT for policy advice — #FacePalmEmoji.

Let’s focus on what’s at stake here:

  • UK citizen trust in the government is low. A test and learn approach to delivering new AI applications means that mistakes are inevitable — it’s literally baked into the approach. When trust is high, our research shows that stakeholders are more likely to forgive mistakes. When trust is low, the impact can be dramatic.
  • UK consumers trust Apple more than the government to keep their personal data safe. Some 35% of UK consumers trust Apple with their personal data, compared to 25% who trust the government. Further eroding its trust level with citizens by getting into battles with Big Tech over laws that reduce citizen privacy isn’t going to help the UK government build trust.
  • Transparency is a key driver of trust. Based on our initial trust research in 2021 and 2022, customers who believed that a company was transparent were anywhere up to four times as likely to forgive its mistakes as those who believed that it wasn’t transparent.

Trust isn’t a nebulous thing — it’s tangible, measurable, and quantifiable. It’s hard-won and easily lost. The UK government has a bold plan for change. These are generational missions, not projects. If this is going to work, the UK government needs citizens to trust it.

We will be launching our Government Trust Index soon, in which we’ll look at the levers of trust in more detail. Stay tuned for more.