While making a big push to invest in AI, the UK government is also playing the virtual card to leapfrog into the 21st century. Today, we announced plans to launch a secure digital wallet to manage government-issued credentials and a chatbot with integration with OpenAI to interact with the main GOV.UK portal. Today, the company announced that the chatbot will be called ‘chat-uk’ and will be part of a wider range of portals and apps.
The first two cards the company plans to add to the wallet will be a virtual driver’s license and a virtual veterans card for those who have served in the military. The company said in a press conference today that it plans to launch the service later this year. The GOV.UK portal is due to come online in 2025, but the chat service has already started testing and is already open to the public for testing, said Peter Kyle, Britain’s Secretary of State for Technology. said. The reaction seemed a little strange.
“It’s really important that the public starts to understand that the world is becoming more and more online, and that governments are also moving into the online world. “It’s important that we have that interaction that the public can provide during testing,” Kyle said at a press conference in London today. “Indeed, the chat system started speaking French in the middle of the test series, but that was a mistake we learned from.”
This development comes at a crossroads in the advancement of AI.
Meanwhile, the Labor government is doubling down on the idea of building a domestic AI economy. Invest further in domestic business operations in partnership with private AI companies and increase infrastructure such as data centers and supercomputers to support AI services. and a significant commitment from governments to invest in AI services themselves. First, today the company announced a number of new AI tools, all of which are still in development. A multifunctional AI assistant for government employees called “Humphrey.” Promote building more consumer-facing AI tools. Increase data sharing across government departments to help build and run AI services.
However, many questions remain about how AI services will function in the coming years. It was only a year ago that the UK took a leading role in the broader global conversation about AI safety. A wave of new services being built by companies like OpenAI, Anthropic, and Mistral are challenging protections, copyright, and how AI creates misinformation and how they impact jobs, user privacy, and data. Learn how it can be used for illicit purposes, such as supporting malicious hacking.
Today, Kyle claimed that testing of new chatbots has so far found “not a single instance” of chatbots being “jailbroken” or returning false information in “heavy” tests. .
The UK’s push for digital services comes at the same time as the US is doubling down on the role technology plays in the country. Yesterday, on his first day in office, President Trump formally announced the new government’s “efficiency” initiative, called DOGE, led by technology entrepreneur Elon Musk. President Trump also rescinded his predecessor, President Joe Biden’s executive order that called for reducing AI risks to governments, consumers, and businesses. This means you no longer need to set up and run safety tests on your AI systems.
The government said the new GOV.UK wallet will allow users to safely store government-issued documents on their mobile phones and easily use them when needed. This is more convenient, for example, when you’re on the move and only have your phone with you and no physical wallet.
Kyle said today that digital driving licenses will also be used to improve online and offline safety. As an example, we discussed how digital IDs can be used to provide age verification for certain online services, which has traditionally been difficult to secure. It is worth noting that the UK is not completely ahead of the curve in this area. France has been offering digital ID apps since 2022.
“The technology will take advantage of security features built into modern smartphones, including facial recognition checks similar to those used when people pay using digital bank cards,” the company said. said. “This means your digital documents are more secure, even if you lose your device.”
Kyle added that there are no plans to make digital wallets or other digital services mandatory, but the company is working on the “attractive” and “desirable” nature of the service to get people to use it.
“Why can’t we just want a satisfying experience that people participate in at this point?” he said.