Address financial and commercial barriers to procuring AI capabilities
Read the full detail of action 1.7 on GOV.UK. (opens in a new tab)
Year 1 progress
In Year 1, commercial and finance colleagues have worked closely with the Justice AI Unit to ensure the MOJ can grow its AI capabilities in a way which balances pace, safety and value for money. A key success has been establishing strategic partnerships with major suppliers like Microsoft and OpenAI, facilitating access to core tools and securing direct access to senior technical expertise. The MOJ was the first government department to pilot an enterprise version of OpenAI's ChatGPT tool, eventually securing OpenAI's commitment to store the data of its British business customers on UK soil for the first time. The rollout of Copilot and ChatGPT in the department has helped build practical experience to inform future commercial decisions.
A key challenge is increasing participation from small and specialist AI suppliers in centrally managed government frameworks. Work is underway to help suppliers meet the mandatory security requirements needed to join these frameworks and compete for government contracts through the Government Commercial Agency.
Year 2 priorities
In Year 2, we will explore options for enterprise-wide agreements with further vendors to support a more diverse, multi-vendor AI portfolio. In addition, we will continue to work closely with the Government Commercial Agency in enabling more flexible commercial frameworks that will allow the department to work with a wider range of smaller and niche AI companies.
