Introduction
On 6 September 2024, the Planning Inspectorate published a document entitled ‘Use of artificial intelligence in casework evidence’ (the Guidance) which provides its guidance on the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) as part of any appeal, application or examination being dealt with by the Inspectorate.
In this blog post, we discuss the contents of the Inspectorate’s Guidance and also what we see are the general implications of AI for the planning system.
What is AI?
According to the online Oxford English Dictionary ‘AI’ is “the capacity of computers or other machines to exhibit or simulate intelligent behaviour”, or in the specific context of software – “software used to perform task or produce output previously thought to require human intelligence”.
Many of us will already be familiar with AI being used in our daily lives to assist us to generate or alter text, images or videos. Indeed, the image for this blog post was generated using AI technology.
Requirements under the Inspectorate’s Guidance
The Guidance is quite a short document and obviously is just the beginning of what is new guidance on the use of AI in planning which we expect to be significantly added to in future given the expected future advances in and increased use of AI.
The Guidance generally acknowledges that AI can be used in preparing evidence and documents for planning matters being dealt with by the Inspectorate, however only on the basis that it is transparently used. The Guidance requires that if you use AI to create or alter any part of your documents, information or data, then you must inform the Inspectorate of this at the time when you provide the material to them and provide details of what systems or tools you have used, the source of the information that the AI system has based its content on, and what information or material the AI has been used to create or alter.
In addition, the Guidance requires that you make declarations about being responsible for the factual accuracy of the content generated by AI, that your use of AI is responsible and lawful, and that you have appropriate permissions to disclose and share any personal information and that its use complies with data protection and copyright legislation.
A link to the full Guidance is as follows:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/use-of-artificial-intelligence-in-casework-evidence
General implications of AI for planning – our comments
AI has the potential to significantly transform how we as professionals work including the operation of the planning system. The Guidance from the Planning Inspectorate which we have discussed will already impact on the use of AI for planning matters brought before the Inspectorate, however we also see potential for AI to be used in other areas of planning such as the preparation of planning applications – for example AI may be used to create images or text to be used in the preparation of planning or design and access statements and to create drawings for development schemes.
Whilst we see AI as currently being a useful tool for planning and other development professionals to utilise as part of their work, we do not see it wholly replacing these persons any time in the foreseeable future as the planning system involves making strategic decisions and other judgements which AI in its present form cannot achieve. Also, there remain concerns with the use of AI which have yet to be fully addressed, particularly regarding the accuracy of the information generated by it and legal rights over the information it sources. However, one will need to watch in future the pace of how this technology develops as it has the capacity to improve and one day potentially perform any human task.
Note: all comments and views expressed in this blog are merely opinions and provided for information purposes only and do not constitute legal advice which can be relied upon. Should you require legal advice on a matter then please contact us
