The UK government’s increasing reliance on artificial intelligence and digital technologies in its social security system is leading to the systematic exclusion of people with disabilities, low-income communities, and other marginalized groups, warned Amnesty International on Thursday in a new report. The report, titled “Too Much Technology, Not Enough Empathy,” sheds light on the consequences of the Department for Work and Pensions’ (DWP) digitization of key welfare schemes such as Universal Credit (UC) and Personal Independence Payment (PIP).
According to Amnesty International’s findings, the rollout and frequent revisions of AI-based systems have created a deeply inaccessible environment for those who need welfare the most. Many applicants lack digital literacy, internet access, or compatible devices, leaving them trapped in bureaucratic limbo and further impoverished by delays or denials in benefit delivery. Telephone alternatives are often plagued with long wait times and limited assistance.
The organization called on the UK government to conduct an independent, impartial review of the DWP’s digital systems, eliminate any technologies that breach human rights obligations, and ensure AI systems are not made mandatory. The organization emphasized the urgent need for AI legislation that centers transparency, fairness, and human oversight.
This research builds upon Amnesty’s May 2025 report, “Social Insecurity: The Devastating Human Rights Impact of Social Security System Failures in the UK,” which called for a complete overhaul of the UK’s benefits system. The two reports, based on data from 782 interviews with claimants and welfare advisors, collectively demonstrate that digital systems are compounding existing inequalities rather than alleviating them.
Critics state that the government’s enthusiasm for cost-cutting through automation has overshadowed its obligations to safeguard dignity and rights. Prime Minister Keir Starmer plans to accelerate AI across the public sector to boost economic growth by making the UK an “AI superpower.” Amnesty International Researcher on Technology, Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Imogen-Richmond Bishop said:
The DWP’s mission to reduce ‘costs’ is an unhealthy obsession and overreliance on flawed technology. But urgent questions remain: Is the tech rollout truly cost-effective – or simply cutting corners at the expense of vulnerable people? … The DWP’s experimentation with tech systems has reduced people to data points…oversimplified people’s complex realities by creating narrow and opaque processing that demeans people’s needs especially when they are unable to get the support from a human case worker that they need.
The UK government has previously touted digital transformation as a way to improve efficiency and accessibility. However, critics argue that these efforts have failed to account for digital poverty and lived experiences. In a recent UK government report on early AI adoption in education, institutions acknowledged that “the biggest risk is doing nothing,” yet that same logic appears to ignore the risks of doing the wrong thing without accountability.
Other international watchdogs have also flagged concerns. In its 2022 report to the Human Rights Council, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights warned about the digitization of welfare systems, stating that despite their potential benefits, these systems carry the risk of excluding those most in need and emphasized the need for more robust safeguards in algorithmic welfare programs. Similarly, in Denmark, AI-driven social support systems were found to disproportionately penalize marginalized groups and fuel mass surveillance.
Rights advocates emphasize that technological advancement must not come at the cost of human dignity, equity, and access. Without meaningful reform, these advocates suggest the current system may continue to deepen digital divides and undermine the rights of the very people it was designed to support.
Source: https://www.jurist.org/
