NSW auditor: 'extra agency-led AI policies needed'

Artificial intelligence is proliferating in NSW government with 357 different tools found to be in use across 21 of 26 of the state's largest departments and agencies.

The NSW audit office, which conducted the review, said the AI tools are used for a variety of purposes, including workflow enhancement, customer interaction, fraud detection and cyber security support, compliance monitoring, capability development and supporting service delivery. 

Not all are in production - some remain under pilot - but given the breadth of use and of use cases, the audit identified a need for agencies to develop more tailored governance for their specific circumstances.

NSW agencies are currently required to adhere to the state’s whole-of-government rules for artificial intelligence.

The audit expressed concern that the whole-of-government framework might be inadequately detailed for some departments and agencies in more advanced phases of AI adoption.

“An agency-level policy is required to deal with elements that go beyond the NSW government’s ethical principles,” the report reads [pdf]. 

“There is no one-size-fits-all governance model."

The report found less than half of the 21 largest departments and agencies had implemented formal AI policies for AI or integrated the emerging tech into existing agency frameworks.

Some departments and agencies noted that their policy was currently under review while others indicated that they rely on the statewide AI ethics policy. 

The report also encouraged the creation of central inventories to document the purpose, uses and limitations of the technology to improve government accountability.

Of the 21 largest departments and agencies, 15 reported that they were already doing this at the time of the review.