WAJD Learning

Module 1 of 2 · 45 minutes

The Playbook's ten principles, and being open about what you use

By the end of this module you will be able to

  • Name the ten principles
  • Explain meaningful human control
  • State who must publish a transparency record
  • Describe the two tiers of a record
  • Say why a public record matters

Work through it

1 interactive for this module, built on the WAJD Teach engine. Nothing moves until you ask it to, and every one has a written version if you would rather read it.

Watch: Emma and George talk it through

3 minutes. Captions are on, and the same conversation is written out in full below. The voices are computer generated.

Emma George, my council team's been offered an AI tool to sort housing repair requests. Where do I start?

George With the Artificial Intelligence Playbook for the UK Government. Published on 10 February 2025 by the Government Digital Service. It's for departments and public sector organisations, and it has ten principles.

Emma Give me the ones I'll meet first.

George The first. You know what AI is and what its limitations are. The second. You use AI lawfully, ethically and responsibly. And the fourth. You have meaningful human control at the right stages.

Emma What does meaningful mean?

George The Playbook says humans should validate any high-risk decisions influenced by AI. And there should be systems that let users report issues and prompt a human review.

Emma We'd have an officer approving each one.

George Approving, or deciding? If they click accept two hundred times a day, that isn't control. They need to see what the tool was given, and have the time and the standing to disagree.

Emma Any principle people forget?

George The sixth. You use the right tool for the job. Sometimes that isn't AI.

Emma Do we have to tell residents we're using it?

George There's a standard for that. The Algorithmic Transparency Recording Standard. A published record of the tool, what it does and why you use it.

Emma Is it compulsory for a council?

George It's mandatory for all government departments, and for arm's length bodies that deliver public or frontline services or interact directly with the public. For the rest of the public sector it's recommended, and records from local government are welcomed.

Emma Which tools does it cover?

George Those with a significant influence on a decision-making process with public effect, or that directly interact with the general public.

Emma What does a record look like?

George Two tiers. Tier one is a summary for the public, in clear and simple language. Tier two is fuller detail for specialists, like journalists and researchers.

Emma And if it isn't mandatory for us?

George Draft tier one anyway. If you can't describe in two plain paragraphs what the tool does and why you chose it, you're not ready to use it.

The written material

Ten principles

The Playbook was published on 10 February 2025 for government departments and public sector organisations. Its ten principles are written as statements a team should be able to make about itself.

  • You know what AI is and what its limitations are
  • You use AI lawfully, ethically and responsibly
  • You know how to use AI securely
  • You have meaningful human control at the right stages
  • You understand how to manage the full AI life cycle
  • You use the right tool for the job
  • You are open and collaborative
  • You work with commercial colleagues from the start
  • You have the skills and expertise needed to implement and use AI solutions
  • You use these principles alongside your organisation's policies and have the right assurance in place

Meaningful human control

The fourth principle is the one front line staff meet first. The Playbook says humans should validate any high-risk decisions influenced by AI, and that there should be systems in place that allow users to report issues and prompt a human review.

Control at the right stages means the person can actually change the outcome: they see what the tool was given, they understand roughly why it said what it said, and they have the time and the standing to disagree. A caseworker who clicks accept two hundred times a day is not control.

The transparency record

The Algorithmic Transparency Recording Standard is a template for publishing information about the algorithmic tools a body uses and why. It is mandatory for all government departments, and for arm's length bodies which deliver public or frontline services or directly interact with the general public.

Within those bodies it covers tools that have a significant influence on a decision-making process with public effect, or that directly interact with the general public. It is recommended by the Data Standards Authority for use across the entire public sector, and submissions from local government, police forces and others are welcomed.

Two tiers, and why it matters

A record has two tiers. Tier 1 is a summary for the general public in clear and simple language. Tier 2 is fuller detail for specialist audiences such as civil society, journalists and researchers. Records are published in a repository on GOV.UK.

The reason is legitimacy. A resident affected by a decision is entitled to know that a tool was involved, what it did and who to ask. Writing the record also tests the team: if you cannot describe in plain words what the tool does and why you chose it, you are not ready to use it.

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