Speaker: David Canning MBE & Dr Kelcey Swain, Cabinet Office
Abstract: AI adoption is a top priority for government and a subject filling column inches and TV schedules, but as information and records professionals we need to understand the specifics that lie behind the hype. David will discuss some of the projects that Cabinet Office has pursued and the challenges we have faced. These include document and email records review, implementation of Google Gemini, and experiments with solid data foundations before using AI. This includes working on an AI report writer for data subject access and how to construct policies in machine-readable formats using solid data structures. David will discuss how, without solid data foundations, AI can often be a new problem rather than a solution. However, if implemented well, AI can transform access to knowledge and information into structured, machine-readable data, improving access through the conversion of knowledge into human-readable and human-owned data.
Bio:
David Canning MBE
David Canning is Head of Digital Knowledge & Information Management in Cabinet Office. He led the creation of the Digital Archiving Service as part of a wider programme aimed at bringing the department’s digital heap under control, and introducing AI into document review for disposal. David has spent the past eleven years building the Cabinet Office’s digital records management capability, and this period includes being appointed as the Departmental Records Officer for the Department for Exiting the EU. David strongly believes that a key to solving many of the current issues facing records managers and archivists is to rethink these disciplines through a digital mindset – digital solutions for digital problems. David was awarded MBE for services to innovation in KIM in 2024.
Dr Kelcey Swain
Dr. Kelcey Swain is Lead Innovation and AI Architect at the Cabinet Office, specialising in AI governance and digital transformation. With a PhD in Digital Signal Processing, he pioneered the Digital Assurance Navigator to translate ethical policy into machine-readable assurance. Kelcey is driven by the conviction that modern technology can bridge the divide between knowledge and data. He believes that once this gap is closed, AI can be reliably deployed across complex public sector environments. His work focuses on building data-led capabilities that connect complex engineering and operational impact.