IFIP President Anthony Wong has welcomed calls by BCS, the Chartered Institute for IT to review the legal presumption of the accuracy of computer evidence in the wake of the Post Office Horizon scandal.
Mr Wong said it is essential that we learn from past mistakes and introduce protections to ensure users are not held responsible for issues caused by technology, particularly in today’s increasingly AI-driven society.
More than 900 subpostmasters faced criminal prosecution between 1999 and 2015 after faulty software corrupted their financial results, in what’s been labelled the worst miscarriage of justice in Britain’s legal history.
After the publication this month of the first volume of the Horizon inquiry’s final report, BCS CEO Sharron Gunn called for greater accountability and tighter professional standards.
“There will be another Horizon tragedy, unless everyone responsible for the development, leadership and governance of technology is accountable to professional standards with real clout,” she said.
“That includes ensuring that CEOs and boards, who are often without technical backgrounds, understand the complex issues around IT and its implementation, particularly the ethical ones.
“Horizon wasn’t a self-aware AI, acting alone. Its flaws devastated lives because of a lack of professional behaviours and understanding, at many levels and across many fields, from technology to law to management.
“Apart from the software failure, issues of computer evidence being assumed correct in law; the need for better training for expert witnesses; lack of mature culture of whistleblowing and meaningful codes of conduct, all came to the surface.
“Professional bodies across the spectrum will be reading this report in detail and working together to help rebuild trust in the services the public depends on. This is even more critical with AI, where the decisions we take now will determine how much it benefits society,” Ms Gunn said.
Image: Sharron Gunn, BCS CEO Source: BCS