The UK government has reportedly proclaimed that a new Artificial Intelligence (AI) tool called the Fraud Risk Assessment Accelerator has helped the government to recover almost £500m in public funds lost to fraud over the last year.
It has been observed that more than a third of the money retrieved was related to fraudulent activity during the Covid-19 pandemic.
On the contrary, other cash was being recouped from unlawful council tax claims and the illegal underletting of social housing.
The Cabinet office has officially announced that £480m was recovered in the 12 months from April 2024, which is the largest ever sum reclaimed by the government anti-fraud teams in a single year.
The government stated that the savings recovered will be used to recruit nurses, teachers and police officers.
Before the last year's general election, political parties claimed that more than £7billion of public money was lost to fraud during the pandemic.
The scheme has been highly criticized for not being rigorous and effectively inviting fraud, as companies that dissolve before paying back the money then do not need to repay anything.
The Cabinet Office minister has officially announced that the cutting-edge AI tools would play a pivotal role to ensure the government protects public funds and does not line the pockets of those who perpetrate the scams.
Researchers have developed the new AI tool in the Cabinet Office and are all set to roll out across other government departments.
The new tool will potentially scan new policies and procedures before they can be exploited and could make policies fraud-proof before they are applied practically.
The concerned departments have announced that it is expected that the US, Canada, New Zealand and Australia will adopt the new tool in some way.
An AI tool was specifically designed last year to crack down on welfare fraud that showed bias based on people’s age, nationality and marital status.
The future will allow a better understanding of the government's use of tech and AI systems.