Will the UK’s housebuilding algorithm join the government’s growing AI graveyard?
British councils recently joined exam boards and immigration department in ditching their algorithms
Meet the planning algorithm
The British government recently introduceda new formulafor calculating where new housing is built. But planning consultancy Litchfields today claimed the algorithm would lead to more homesbeing constructed in the countryside and suburbs — typically Tory-voting areas — and fewer in towns and city centers.
The plans have achieved the rare feat of attracting critics from across the political spectrum.
Conservative MP Neil O’BrienwarnedTory-voters wouldn’t want more housing where they live; Labour’s Kate Hollern accused the government of “leveling-down areas;” and the Green Party’s Natalie Benett said the plans would “step up regional inequality even further, and hack into the greenbelt for the benefit of mass housebuilders.”
Whether the housebuilding algorithm joins the ones used for exam results and welfare claims on the shelf. But it will certainly be under increased scrutiny over the months to come.
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Story byThomas Macaulay
Thomas is a senior reporter at TNW. He covers European tech, with a focus on AI, cybersecurity, and government policy.Thomas is a senior reporter at TNW. He covers European tech, with a focus on AI, cybersecurity, and government policy.
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