ACE ‘considering use of AI’ for administrative tasks

Arts Council England (ACE) could start using artificial intelligence to carry out administrative tasks as part of efforts to improve efficiency.

A statement published today (3 June) by the public funding body says that while the assessment of funding applications and decisions on who receives financial backing will continue to be carried by ACE staff, it is weighing up the possibility of utilising AI for other purposes.

“We may explore using AI over the coming months to help us to carry out some processing tasks more efficiently and effectively,” the position statement says.

“This could include carrying out administrative tasks such as checking and verifying information, and analysing and categorising data sets by, for example, location or demographics.”

News that ACE is considering the use of AI to improve efficiency comes a week ahead of Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ Spending Review, which will set government departments’ budgets until at least 2029.

‘Scrutinising every single pound’

The government has said the review, which takes place on 11 June, will “scrutinise every single pound the government spends”.

ACE is currently subject to a review led by Dame Margaret Hodge looking at the role the funding body plays in the wider arts and culture ecosystem.

And under plans announced by the Cabinet Office in April, government departments have been asked to justify every quango they are responsible for as part of efforts to create a “more productive and agile state”.

The position statement published by ACE also provides guidance on the use of AI in writing funding applications. It says that while AI technologies may be useful in streamlining reports, and can help the process of applying, it recommends those using such tools “do so cautiously”.

Writing in a blog, also published today, on ‘meeting the challenges and embracing the opportunities‘ of AI, ACE’s director for new technologies and innovation, Owen Hopkin, said: “The technology is evolving and our approach will need to evolve too.

“As the champion, advocate and development agency of our nation’s creative and cultural life we need to both meet the challenges AI poses and embrace the opportunities it provides.”

Radical transformation

Last month it emerged that ACE handed an £800,000 contract to “radical transformation” consultants to help it test and deliver new ways of working that are “simple, accessible, user focused and digital first”.

ACE is also facing ongoing questions around the useability and future of the Illuminate audience data platform that arts and culture organisations are required to use to report audience data.

The funding body has also promised changes to the user experience of its much-maligned funding portal Grantium.