Carbon emissions generated prior to the rollout of Artificial Intelligence systems within the NHS: EIR release

Information requested

Has the Scottish Government calculated the total amount of carbon emissions that would be generated prior to the rollout of Artificial Intelligence systems within the NHS?

If no, are any calculations on co2 impacts forthcoming?

Response

As the information you have requested is 'environmental information' for the purposes of the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (EIRs), we are required to deal with your request under those Regulations. We are applying the exemption at section 39(2) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA), so that we do not also have to deal with your request under FOISA.

This exemption is subject to the 'public interest test'. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemption, because there is no public interest in dealing with the same request under two different regimes. This is essentially a technical point and has no material effect on the outcome of your request.

The answer to your question is no, the Scottish Government has not calculated the total amount of carbon emissions that would be generated prior to the rollout of Artificial Intelligence (AI) within the NHS. With regard to the second part of your question, there are currently no plans to calculate the total amount of carbon emissions involved in the use of AI in the NHS, but this is a position which will be kept under review.

Regulation 10(4)(a)- Information not held

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested. Therefore we are refusing your request under the exception at regulation 10(4)(a) of the EIRs.

Under the terms of the exception at regulation 10(4)(a) of the EIRs (information not held), the Scottish Government is not required to provide information which it does not have. The Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested because there has not been modelling undertaken to estimate the total carbon emissions relating to the use of AI in the NHS. We recognise that AI can have a significant impact on climate change, being both part of the problem - due to the rising carbon emissions generated by computers running complex AI algorithms - and part of the solution in terms of facilitating innovation and driving productivity.

There are some examples of AI being used in health and social care services in Scotland but many examples are still being developed and tested in clinical settings. These include tools for interpretation of medical images, administrative tasks, and prevention. We are exploring ways to integrate climate implications of AI into local decision-making processes within Health Boards and how technologies are assessed prior to their adoption within the NHS. For example we fund research which aims to develop ways to measure the climate impact of AI models as part of the assessment which any new technology must go through before being certified for use in the NHS.

To find out more about climate change and sustainability tools for health boards in Scotland you may wish to contact National Services Scotland at nss.hfsenquiries@nhs.scot who may be able to help you.

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at https://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.