The UK is turning to AI to assist with administrative tasks and free up police officers, teachers and health workers to focus on front-line responsibilities.

A government review found that many teachers “waste a day each week” on tasks including data input and daily reports, and said that cutting administrative workloads would allow police to focus more time on tackling crime.

The report, to be included in the government’s Autumn Statement next week, will highlight “huge opportunities” to reduce daily administrative tasks and further leverage AI to ease the burden on police officers and teachers, while helping nurses and doctors treat patients more quickly.

“Our public servants are among the best in the world, but we don’t help them or taxpayers when a day every week is wasted on admin,” Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt said in a statement on Saturday.

“We must do better by cutting admin, preventing problems before they emerge and safely introducing new technology like AI.”

Productivity

Governments around the world are increasingly turning to AI to help streamline operations and increase productivity in public services as they face higher costs and aging populations.

In the UK, Hunt said that Al is already helping doctors and nurses treat stroke victims, and build high-quality lesson plans for teachers.

Further use of the technology would cut teachers’ workloads by as many as five hours each week over three years, while new technologies could save the country’s police force around 750,000 hours every week he said.

The report comes as public opinion remains divided about the increasing use of AI in the workplace.

A report by the UK’s Office for National Statistics released last month showed that 32% of working adults believed that AI could put their job at risk, while 28% thought it could make their job easier.