Algorithm Charter CoP: the rubber hits the road

Despite there being a lot of pressure on members’ time, we had a great turnout for the June CoP wānanga, hosted by the Ministry for the Environment.

Algorithm Charter maturity model

We started off by refreshing our memories of the Charter Maturity Model that was introduced to the Community in March, with a subsequent request for agencies to complete a maturity assessment. Initiated by the Committee, the assessment would:

• provide a benchmark for measuring progress
• identify which agencies are further along and therefore best placed to help others.

By June, many of the agencies had already filled in the maturity assessment and we had a kōrero about what informed their responses. Those present represented a range of maturity and we ended the discussion with resolve to work together to make real progress.

Hidden use of AI

One of our NZ Police members then talked to us about the trap of potentially hidden and accidental use of AI that agencies can fall into. NZ Police are further ahead in many ways in adhering to the Charter, and are more than willing to share their learnings so others don’t have to make similar mistakes. The Community is very grateful for this commitment!

We learnt that NZ Police had outsourced some research and were then informed that the vendor had used AI. NZ Police were surprised that they had not been told prior, and the vendor was surprised that it was an issue. This use raised important questions for NZ Police:

• Who owns the data used?
• What does it mean if the vendor used AI from offshore? If they did, does that contravene Te Tiriti o Waitangi regarding Māori taonga?
• Does it look underhand to use a third party who then use AI, like a workaround of your own practices?

This also led to a question around the sharing of data between public agencies, and the potential for contravening one another’s (differing) policies.

After considering these questions, NZ Police decided to not allow their vendors to use AI, even though the one that did the research did so safely. It looks likely that for all agencies who use vendors, this is a question that will have to be considered. Vendors will strive to provide more value for money in these straitened times and so will be more likely to use AI. It will come down agencies having to make decisions around efficiency and accuracy versus security.

Checking in

We finished our wānanga with a round robin of what Charter activity agencies we're undertaking. Agencies reported a range of actions, some already underway and some now involving checking with their vendors! We look forward to catching up and checking progress in early October 2024.

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Photo by Michal on Pixabay