Ministers have suffered a defeat in the House of Lords amid fears gender self-ID might mislead the AI systems doctors and the police use. Peers voted 205 to 159, majority 46, to amend the Data (Use and Access) Bill, demanding that Government agencies “reliably ascertain the personal data” on passports and drivers’ licences.
Conservative former minister Lord Arbuthnot of Edrom warned peers that artificial intelligence risked creating “synthetic” identity risks if people can change their sex on documents without a record of their sex at birth. But Liberal Democrat Lord Clement-Jones cautioned his colleagues not to create a “culture war”.
The consequences of this are really concerning. It means that people with mismatched identities will risk being flagged up as a synthetic identity risk. Lord Arbuthnot told the upper chamber on Tuesday: “The digital verification system operates at the moment on the basis of chosen gender and not on the basis of sex at birth.”.
He continued: “We can’t go on like that. The consequences of this are really concerning. It means that people with mismatched identities will risk being flagged up as a synthetic identity risk. “It means that authorities with statutory safeguarding responsibilities won’t be able to assess the risk that they are trying to deal with.
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