Artificial intelligence (AI)

AI is rapidly affecting all aspects of our lives, but the pace of professional practice doesn’t always keep up with its impact.

BCS helps to find solutions to the big public policy questions where AI is used - from facial recognition technology, recruitment, health care and logistics. BCS believes that developing and maintaining a diverse and inclusive AI sector is central to reducing bias in machine learning and delivering AI applications that are fit-for-purpose and developed by professionals that are representative of our society.

Events, articles and reports

Ethical AI report

The Government’s Office for AI commissioned BCS to write a report into what must be done to attract a more diverse range of students to apply for MSc. computer science courses. The government adopted many of its recommendations.

Scaling up the ethical AI pipeline

Ethical maturity of AI

BCS is collaborating with the government’s independent advisory body, the Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation, looking at how to embed ethical practice into Machine Learning and Data Science MSc courses.

Equipping future AI practitioners with the right ethical skills

AI risks having bias

The expertise of the BCS policy department has been called upon by the government to inform its policies across the board - such as the Standards in Public Life committee.

AI risks having bias and discrimination ‘hard-wired’ in - BCS tells report

Facial recognition

BCS has warned against the rise of a ‘cavalier attitude’ by organisations using ‘flawed’ facial recognition technology to monitor crowds in public spaces.

Why abuses of facial biometric data mean we need to get serious about safeguards

Past reports

View all of our past reports

Join in

Discover BCS membership! You’ll be joining a thriving community of IT professionals and benefits include access to regular events, conferences, meetings, as well the chance to join our members’ groups such as the ICT Ethics specialist group, or the Law Specialist Group.

Share your support

BCS regularly polls IT professionals and members on topical issues. Our surveys are one way that we listen to our members opinions and this helps to form our policies on major areas of public policy. This year we found that cyber security is the main issue that keeps senior manager awake at night.
Read the IT leaders report 2020

"Given the potential impact of AI on so much of the modern world, it is essential that all AI practitioners have the competencies necessary to ethically design, ethically develop, ethically deploy, ethically manage and ethically maintain AI products and services."

Dr Bill Mitchell, BCS Director of Policy

Scaling up the Ethical Artificial Intelligence MSc. Pipeline

Get involved

Do you want to know more about our policy work or have views about STEM policy you’d like to share? Would your organisation like to get involved with our STEM research or carry out a joint campaign with BCS? If so, we want to hear from you! To share your opinions and to find out more about partnering with us, get in touch at policyhub@bcs.uk

Email policyhub@bcs.uk

Explore our other priorities

Health and care

Digital health is undergoing rapid transformation and BCS, as the professional body for IT, is committed to supporting the establishment of recognised professional standards in this sector. This will enable and empower digital health professionals to mitigate risks and provide secure, insight-driven data to improve patient care.

Explore health and care

Education

We support the teaching of rigorous and relevant computer science across the academic spectrum, from primary school to university. We are also the end-point assessor for the thriving digital apprenticeship sector. The UK currently faces a major skills gap and education is the key to kickstarting innovation and sustaining our future economy.

Explore education

Tech and society

BCS believes in making IT good for society - part of this is navigating the transformative benefits of IT and digital technology safely and securely. BCS works in a variety of ways with the government, public sector, the private industry and civil society to generate practical solutions to key issues such as online harms, cyber security and data security and protection.

Explore tech and society

Diversity and inclusion

Diversity and inclusion as standard; that’s the common goal for our industry. Yet women account for only 20% of IT specialists; and BAME IT professionals are less likely to be in senior roles, despite being better qualified. Like many industries, there are complex and wide-ranging challenges we firstly have to face. At BCS, we’re facing them together as a priority.