GCRI · Inteligencia artificial y sistemas autónomos

IA y servicios públicos

Governments use algorithms to target benefits, detect fraud, triage health care, allocate inspections, translate and answer citizens’ questions. When these sistemas are wrong, opaque or biased, people lose services and rights they depend on, often without knowing why. This page sets out how public sector AI succeeds and fails, how it is assessed and made accountable, and what evidence serves the agencies, auditors and citizens involved.

01Lienzo

Cómo se desarrolla el trabajo.

sistemas · en torno a este temaIlustrativo

Registro de modelos

AI and public services · Model registry · Release gate

Un modelo bloqueado en la puertaGCRI · Inteligencia artificial y sistemas autónomos

Modelos

M-843 triage assistantServicio públicoAlto22 of 24 suitesBloqueado
M-266 flood nowcastCienciaMedio11 de 12Publicado
M-756 document searchInternoBajo8 of 8Publicado
M-769 agent plannerAgénticoAlto12 of 16En evaluación

Ficha del modelo

Uso previsto
apoyo al triaje, decide una persona
Fuera de alcance
decisiones de elegibilidad
Límites conocidos
menor precisión en casos raros
Propietario
Propietario del modelo

Registro de incidentes

  1. D-13INCCita alucinada en el resumen
  2. D-6MITFundamentación de la recuperación añadida
  3. D-2INCInyección de instrucciones mediante un archivo cargado
  4. D-1MITPermiso de herramienta restringido

Evaluation scores

vs release threshold

Task accuracy87 of 85 requiredRobustez77 of 75 requiredFairness gap (lower is better)5 of 5 requiredRefusal on misuse94 of 95 required
Model registry: the screen’s structure, terms and states for AI and public services.Nombres de ejemplo y valores ilustrativos; un diseño, no un registro ni un sistema en vivo.

Fig.Model registry: example names and illustrative values, not a record or a live system.

02La pregunta

AI and public services: how the risk develops.

Public accountability, access and rights. The dossier below sets out how the risk develops, what is measured, where the data come from, how it is modelled and who decides.

Mecanismo

Errors fall on the vulnerable

People who depend most on public services are often those most affected by automated decisions, and least able to challenge them.

Mecanismo

Historical data carry bias

Models trained on past decisions can reproduce discrimination present in those decisions, even when protected characteristics are excluded.

Mecanismo

Opacity blocks challenge

When people cannot see that an algorithm was used or why it produced a result, they cannot contest it, and errors persist.

Mecanismo

Accountability stays with the agency

Procuring a system from a vendor does not transfer responsibility. Agencies must be able to explain, audit and override algorithmic decisions.

03Métodos y evidencia

How AI and public services is modelled, measured and tested.

El modelo, sus supuestos, sus datos y su incertidumbre, en la forma en que un científico o un ingeniero los comprobaría. Las estructuras siguen métodos publicados. Los valores representados son ilustrativos, no hallazgos.

Modelo de sistema

The couplings between the systems in AI and public services: signs of influence, a reinforcing and a balancing loop, and cross-links where stress jumps.

++−+Inteligencia artificialDatosComunidadesEconomíaR de refuerzoB equilibrio
Causal loop diagram from the page’s systems; signs show the direction of influence. Illustrative structure for a system dynamics or network model, not estimated couplings.
Principios rectores FAIR · GO FAIR y FORCE11W3C PROV · World Wide Web ConsortiumOrientación para un tratamiento coherente de las incertidumbres · IPCCCEOS Analysis Ready Data · Comité sobre Satélites de Observación de la Tierra
04En todos los dominios

AI in public services touches the domains people depend on.

Public service AI studies are designed for the serie Evidence Brief. The EU AI Act classifies many public-service uses as high-risk; UNESCO’s Recommendation (2021) and WHO guidance (2021) set ethical expectations.

  • Algorithmic impact assessments a body publishes.
  • Accounts from people affected by automated decisions.
05Indicadores

Qué se mide y con qué calidad.

Cada indicador lleva su unidad, su periodicidad, el tipo de fuente que lo respalda y la etiqueta de evidencia que llevaría un valor. No se muestran valores: un programa los aporta bajo su propia autoridad.

IndicadorUnidadCadenciaTipo de fuenteEtiqueta
Public algorithm registerscount of sistemas registeredper updateGovernment algorithm registersEstadísticas publicadas
Algorithmic impact assessments completedpercent of deployed systemsanualRegistros de los organismosDECLARADO
Error rate by population groupdifference in error ratesper auditAlgorithm auditsOBSERVADO
Decisions appealed and overturnedcount and percentanualAppeals recordsEstadísticas publicadas
Systems with human review of adverse decisionspercent of systemspor revisiónAgency documentationDECLARADO
Audit findings on public sector algorithmscount by severityper audit cycleAudit office reportsNOTIFICADO
06Fuentes

De dónde procede la evidencia.

Conjuntos de datos públicos y registros institucionales identificados, cada uno con su tipo de licencia. Las fuentes obtenidas por acuerdo solo se utilizan conforme a sus condiciones y nunca se republican.

FuenteLo que aportaTipo de licencia
Government algorithm and AI registers, such as the UK Algorithmic Transparency Recording Standard recordsPublic records of algorithmic tools in useOpen, Open Government Licence where applicable
National audit office reports on algorithmsIndependent audits of public sector AIPublic records, licence per office
Observatorio de Políticas de IA de la OCDE (OECD.AI)Government AI policies and the AI Incidents MonitorPublic, OECD terms
Court and ombudsman decisions on automated decision-makingLegal findings on public sector algorithmsRegistros públicos
Canada Directive on Automated Decision-Making and its impact assessment toolA model for impact assessment requirementsPublic, Government of Canada terms
07Decisiones

Quién decide y a qué sirve la evidencia.

Estudio de Inteligencia artificial y sistemas prepares evidence. The decisions below are taken by the authorities named, under their own rules, and never by the platform.

Quién decideLa preguntaEvidencia a la que sirve esta página
Government agenciesWhether and how to deploy an algorithm in a public serviceImpact assessments; audit methods
Auditors and ombudspersonsWhere to investigate algorithmic harmRegisters; appeals data; audit evidence
ParlamentosWhat transparency and accountability to requireComparative policy and case evidence

Productos que genera este tema

  • Impact assessment templates for public sector AI
  • Audit methods for disaggregated error and fairness
  • Transparency record templates
  • Case studies of public sector algorithm failures and fixes
08Cuestiones centrales

What public-sector technologists ask.

  • Is the system accurate for the whole population it serves, including minority groups?
  • Can affected people understand a decision, challenge it and get it corrected?
  • Who is accountable when an automated decision is wrong?
  • Does automation improve access, or does it create new barriers for people without digital skills or connections?
09Mecanismos

How automated decisions go wrong.

sistemas trained on historical administrative data inherit its biases and gaps. Risk-scoring tools can concentrate scrutiny on groups already over-represented in past enforcement. Small error rates become large numbers of wrongly affected people at national scale. When staff defer to the system, known as automation bias, errors are not caught.

Opacity compounds harm: if neither public servants nor citizens can see why a decision was made, it is hard to contest and slow to correct. Access barriers arise when services move online without alternatives.

10Métodos y datos

Evidence for accountable systems.

  1. 01

    Evaluación de impacto

    Structured assessment of a system’s purpose, data, affected groups and safeguards before deployment, using ciencias sociales y del comportamiento. Quality depends on honest completion.

  2. 02

    Fairness and error analysis

    Disaggregated error rates by group, with probabilidad y estadística. Different fairness definitions can conflict, so trade-offs must be made explicit.

  3. 03

    Explanation and contestability

    Designing decision notices and appeal routes people can use. Technical explanations do not by themselves make a decision contestable.

  4. 04

    Audit and monitoring

    Ongoing checks of outcomes and complaints after deployment.

12Where this page’s references

Where this page’s references lead.

Los organismos y documentos con los que se lee esta página. El estado y las ediciones cambian; cada enlace lleva al organismo emisor.

13Preguntas

Preguntas y respuestas.

What is automated decision-making?
Decisions about people made wholly or partly by algorithms, such as eligibility for benefits or prioritisation for inspection, which some laws regulate specifically.
What is an algorithmic impact assessment?
A structured review before and during deployment of an algorithm’s purpose, data, risks to rights and safeguards, often required for public sector systems.
Can people challenge an algorithmic decision?
Many legal systems give rights to an explanation, human review or appeal, but these depend on knowing that an algorithm was used and on how the law applies.
Should public services use AI at all?
That is a decision for public authorities and the public. The platform’s role is to show what systems can do reliably, where they fail and what safeguards evidence supports.
What is automation bias?
The tendency of people to over-rely on automated recommendations, accepting them without adequate scrutiny even when they are wrong.
Can affected people use the platform’s work?
Yes. Outputs are written to be usable by advocates, ombudspersons and the public as well as by public servants.
Does the platform evaluate specific government systems?
Only through scoped projects with the competent authority under written terms. It does not audit systems on its own initiative or publish assessments without agreement.
serie ReportsContribuir

Aporte evidencia desde esta página.

serie Reports is the Consortium’s quarterly publication. What you know about this subject can become evidence, a case or a correction in the next edition, credited to you and published under CC BY 4.0 where it is your own work.

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