Coventry council to use Palantir AI in social work, Send and children’s services

Public sector workers have voiced “deep concern” after Coventry city council signed a £500,000-a-year artificial intelligence contract with the US data technology company Palantir.

The deal is the first of its kind between a UK local authority and the Denver-based company, which supplies technology to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and to help Donald Trump’s mass deportation efforts.

The contract follows a pilot scheme in the council’s children’s services department, including using AI for case-note transcription and to summarise social workers’ records. The council is planning to extend the Palantir system to processes for providing support to children with special educational needs.

The council’s chief executive, Julie Nugent, said it aimed to “improve internal data integration and service delivery” and “explore the transformative opportunities of artificial intelligence”.

Palantir already has a number of public sector contracts in the UK, including providing AI to help tackle organised crime in Leicestershire and building the new NHS federated data platform. Keir Starmer toured the company’s Washington office in February with its chief executive and co-founder, Alex Karp. Palantir was also co-founded by Peter Thiel, the PayPal billionaire who helped fund Trump’s 2016 election camapign.

Keir Starmer touring Palantir’s office in Washington DC in February. Photograph: Carl Court/PA

Trade unions representing teachers and other council workers have said the deal raises “serious ethical questions”, and the independent councillor Grace Lewis called for the council to cancel the contract immediately “and ensure the £500,000 is spent right here in our community”.

“It is indefensible that the council entered into a contract with Palantir, a company infamous for its role in providing weapons and surveillance to the IDF and its role in NHS privatisation, at a time when the council has made cuts to the public and voluntary sector,” Lewis said.

Coventry recently started using Palantir’s AI to screen applications for household support funds. One senior official told a meeting of councillors in June: “There are very few areas that would not benefit from artificial intelligence.” A councillor at the meeting responded: “Sounds a bit like Big Brother to me.”

In a letter to Nugent, the joint secretary of the Coventry branch of the National Education Union, Nicky Downes, highlighted Palantir’s use of AI in surveillance and weapons systems, and raised concerns about its collection and storing of data on citizens, in particular with respect to its provision of predictive policing systems.

“There are some serious ethical questions regarding the business practices of Palantir Foundry, which is a subsidiary of Palantir,” Downes said. “There are also questions relating to its use of, and sourcing of, personal data. We would question the procurement process, particularly regarding ethical considerations and accompanying risk assessments, that led to the decision to spend £500,000 on an AI package from Palantir Foundry.”

Nugent replied: “We have appointed Palantir for 12 months to explore the transformative opportunities of artificial intelligence by running proof of concepts in a number of our key areas. This will build our business case for further future investment and our overall approach to AI. We understand that the ethical implications of AI procurement are of paramount importance. Please be assured that the council has undertaken a thorough and robust due diligence process in line with our procurement policies.”

A spokesperson for Palantir said: “We are excited to help Coventry city council harness AI to improve the services that they provide to the public. The technology offers huge potential, such as enabling social workers and special educational needs professionals to spend less time on paperwork and more time directly supporting children who are vulnerable or have special needs. The early signs are extremely promising, showing the potential for a significant reduction in the admin burden.”

They said Palantir was non-partisan and had engaged with a number of US government administrations since it began working with the Department of Homeland Security in 2010.

A spokesperson for the council said it was exploring how AI could help improve services and make them more efficient. “As part of this initiative, we are evaluating a range of AI solutions and technology partners, including Palantir, to support our AI objectives … As we continue to assess the value of AI for future investment, maintaining robust data protection and governance standards will remain our top priority.”

It said the contract was awarded in line with standard procurement procedures and met its “rigorous security and compliance requirements”.