BCS formulates responses and positions on dominant tech stories and policy debates by working with its members. Amanda Matheson, Senior Press Officer, reports on our impactful moments over the last four months.
During the recent party conference season, BCS policy and media team members, senior management and a couple of our Fellows went to the Liberal Democrats, Tory and Conservative party conferences. These are a vital part of the national political calendar and see party members, trade unions, think tanks, businesses, and charities meet and debate.
Our teams spoke to a cross-section of politicians and other stakeholders about the challenges and opportunities of Artificial Intelligence, the need to boost digital skills, bridge the digital divide, the importance of ethics and professionalism, and diversity and inclusion in the tech workforce.
Fresh from attending the party conferences, Julia Adamson, Managing Director, Education and Public Benefit, received an MBE for her services to education. It was presented to her by Princess Anne at a special investiture ceremony held at Windsor Castle, and Julia travelled with her family to collect the prestigious award. She said: ‘I'm absolutely delighted to have received an MBE. I love what I do, and I never thought that it would lead to this when I began my career as a primary school teacher over 25 years ago.’
Julia's mission at BCS is to give every young person the digital skills they need to succeed in life and work. She led in establishing and managing the National Centre for Computing Education (NCCE), an £84 million government–funded programme to upskill teachers to deliver world–class computing education in schools.
Under her leadership, the Computing at School (CAS) teachers' network has grown in influence and now has over 25,000 teacher members. BCS' Barefoot programme, which supports primary teachers with learning materials and lesson plans, has reached 3.3 million children across the UK.
Also in October, the CEO of BCS, Rashik Parmar, took part in the BBC's Woman's Hour programme on Radio 4, discussing the Online Safety Bill. It's due to become law shortly after six years of debate. Rashik was in discussion with the children's rights advocate in the digital world, Baroness Kidron OBE. Rashik commented: 'In the conversations we have with our professionals, they absolutely want to keep women and children safe on the internet and are trying to develop the algorithms and technologies to do that.'
September
Ahead of November's inaugural global AI Safety Summit at Bletchley Park, BCS issued a statement suggesting that ethics should be a dominant topic for debate at the event. It was based on a survey completed by over 1,300 BCS members. The majority ( 8%) of experts surveyed said the UK should take an international lead on ethical standards in AI. Most IT professionals (82%) agreed that organisations should be required to publish ethical policies on their use of BCS. Nearly all (90 ) said a company's reputation for ethical use of technology was vital when deciding to work for them or partner with them.
The President of BCS, Gillian Arnold, stated: 'Hosting the AI safety Summit is the UK's opportunity to put together a global consensus on the ethical use of digital technologies. That includes asking organisations to publish ethical policies on how they create and use tech. It also means having safe whistleblowing channels for experts working in areas like AI if they feel they're being asked to work in a way that compromises their professional standards or discriminates against a section of society.'
September also saw BCS respond to the House of Lords Communications and Digital Committee's call for evidence about capabilities and trends in Large Language Models.
BCS's position on developing LLMs was grounded in a cautious yet optimistic outlook. The response builds on BCS' flagship paper: Helping AI Grow Up Without Pressing Pause.
We emphasised the importance of addressing the environmental and economic challenges posed by the intensive training requirements of LLMs. BCS underscored the need for responsible funding, monitoring, and ethical considerations.
August
August is GCSE and A-Level results month. BCS congratulated the 87,660 people awarded a GCSE in computer science, with figures showing that while GCSE entries increased overall by 3% in 2023, Computer Science entries were up 12% overall.
The good news continued in our press release on A-Level results day, with more students than ever before being placed on computer science degrees, including a higher proportion of women.
Female students continued outperforming their male counterparts at GCSE and A level. Gillian Arnold, President of BCS, said: ‘The record number of students, and growing share of young women, starting computing degrees this year is important news for the future of the UK.
'We congratulate them and continue to support them throughout their journey into computing. That strong growth in the numbers and diversity of qualified technologists must also accelerate further over the next decade.’
August also saw BCS answer the Department for Education's call for evidence on the risks and opportunities of using generative artificial intelligence (AI) in education. BCS welcomed the consultation as a first step towards developing a future-facing strategy that exploits AI's opportunities while managing its challenges.
July
The BBC exclusively covered our open letter signed by more than 1,300 experts saying AI is a ‘force for good, not a threat to humanity’ during a dedicated AI week. An article on the BBC website quoted the views of several of our members. BCS Fellow Sarah Burnett was a guest across most of the BBC's local radio stations first thing in the morning, where she answered questions about the benefits and challenges of this technology. Questions ranged from the usual – will the robots take all our jobs – to the sublime – what did she think about AI girlfriends?
Plus, there were headlines about the record numbers applying to study computing at British universities amid the rise of AI. According to the university admissions service UCAS, the increase in the number of applications to computing courses by 18-year-olds in the UK makes it the seventh most popular course to study.
For you
Be part of something bigger, join BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT.
UCAS chief executive Clare Marchant suggested that students are becoming ‘increasingly inspired’ to study computing due to the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) and advances in digital technology.
Our CEO, Rashik Parmar, said: ‘Teenagers in the UK know that AI will change the world forever; it shouldn't surprise us to see this soaring demand for computing degrees.’
‘AI is already reshaping how cancer is diagnosed, how we tackle climate change, how we work and communicate. The thousands of young men and women applying for computing through UCAS do so because they want a say in this future.’
Meanwhile, the BCS policy and media team are now keenly looking forward to seeing what will come out of the AI Safety Summit in early November and how and where the views and advice of our members have gained traction.
Meanwhile, the BCS policy and media team are now keenly looking forward to seeing what will come out of the AI Safety Summit in early November and the impact of the views and guidance of our members.
