UPDATE: |New experimental AI tool could help government build 1.5 million homes News

It takes just 40 seconds to complete a task that would take a human one to two hours

A new experimental AI tool could help the government deliver its goal of building 1.5 million new homes over the next Parliament.

Currently in early testing, the AI tool could reduce the time spent converting old planning documents into digital records, taking 40 seconds for what typically takes one to two hours to complete.

The AI tool is being developed to be able to convert scans of old, PDF and paper documents into machine readable and sharable data in just seconds, which could strengthen public services and help deliver the government’s Plan for Change milestone – to build 1.5m new homes.

Technology Secretary Peter Kyle said: “The UK’s planning system has been held back for too long by outdated paper documents, slow processes, making it nearly impossible for councils to make informed decisions quickly.

“As part of our Plan for Change, we’re using the power of AI to transform sluggish systems so we can start to rebuild. With Extract, councils will have access to better quality data so they can move more quickly on planning decisions and get on with driving growth.

“Technology like this could be a vital step towards councils meeting targets to help build the 1.5 million new homes the country needs, all while updating and improving the planning system for the future.”

Housing and Planning Minister Matthew Pennycook said: “To kickstart economic growth and achieve the government’s ambitious Plan for Change milestone of building 1.5 million new homes in this Parliament, we need local planning authorities to be making informed decisions faster.

“By harnessing new technology like Extract, we can tackle backlogs, inefficiencies and waste and ensure councils are focusing precious time and resources on efficiently determining applications to build new homes.”

The new AI tool is currently being tested and could be available to councils later this year. It could also have potential applications across the public sector where location-specific data is used to deliver services and inform government policy and decisions across departments.

It comes after the Technology Secretary revealed a £45 billion jackpot of productivity savings, if the public sector makes good use of technology to improve services and make processes more efficient.