Code of conduct for IT professionals would help gain public trust in AI
Billions of investment in AI will do little while the public remains suspicious of the tech. A public register for IT professionals could help address this, writes Emma McGuigan
When President Trump touched down in the UK last week to sign the new US-UK tech and AI partnership, the headlines wrote themselves. A “special relationship” reborn for the digital age; a chance for Britain to carve out its place in a sector that will shape our economy, and society, for decades.
On paper, it’s a staggering win. Blackstone has pledged £90bn. Microsoft is promising £22bn over the next four years. Google another £5bn into data centres. Add billions more from Palantir, Boeing and Prologis, and suddenly Britain is looking like the European home of technology.
It’s absolutely the right ambition, particularly to secure Britain’s place as a global tech force, but there is a snag. AI can’t transform our lives for the better unless the people using it, running it and building it are trusted. And right now, the public needs to be convinced.
UK public is highly suspicious of AI
Research released today, by BCS, the Chartered Institute for IT and YouGov, shows what it will take for the public to buy in to the promise of AI and other emerging technologies.
Some 85 per cent believe that IT professionals working on systems that affect the public should be on a public register, and held to a Code of Ethics like doctors or lawyers. Four in five say those in high-impact AI roles should hold professional or chartered status, as we’ve come to expect from accountants. Half want an independent body to keep watch – a modern Argus, with eyes everywhere and no room for complacency.
This isn’t some knee-jerk technophobia; it’s a rational response to lived experience. Six in ten have been caught in a major outage, nearly half have endured a data breach or privacy scare and countless others have had services slowed or derailed by IT mistakes. People know how fragile digital systems can be.
And we all know the price of failure. The Horizon Post Office scandal wasn’t just a faulty piece of software, but a story of blind faith in systems and of a lack of professional accountability. Hundreds of sub-postmasters were wrongfully accused; their lives destroyed, their careers ended – all because no one stood up and said this system isn’t fit for purpose. Horizon is a warning that still hangs over every new promise of digital transformation, and rightly so.
Other professions learned the same lesson years ago. No one would accept an unregistered doctor in A&E. You wouldn’t let an accountant sign off the books without being chartered. And even if you’re a diehard fan of Suits, you still probably wouldn’t want Mike Ross handling your defence either. Yet we still accept IT professionals designing systems that decide who gets treated in our NHS, who receives their benefits or whether a mortgage is approved, with no comparable professional obligations. In 2025, that difference is indefensible.
How to get the public on side?
The good news is the fix isn’t complicated – it comes down to three clear steps. First, make professional registration mandatory across civil service and public-sector tech roles, and extend that to contractors bidding for digital work with government. Second, ensure that registration isn’t just a tick-box. The register should be public, transparent and actively used by employers to verify that people in high-impact positions are properly qualified. And finally, DSIT should continue to work with companies and professional bodies to shape and maintain world-class ethical standards.
This is about individuals in the profession stepping up and taking responsibility, the democratisation of responsible IT. It’s how Britain becomes not just the most exciting European destination for US capital, but the most trusted digital society in the world. One built on the foundations of a strong, emerging AI profession that will set the standard across Europe. Without that trust, the Tech Prosperity Deal risks becoming another case of foreign money chasing infrastructure, while the public quietly wonders whether the systems will actually work for them.
Trust is not a soft asset, but rather a market advantage. London became the world’s financial centre because investors trusted its accountants, its lawyers, its regulators. The same logic applies now. If Britain wants to be a digital superpower, its tech professionals must be trusted as much as its surgeons or solicitors.
The public have made one thing clear: trust is the quiet currency of progress; invisible until it’s gone, invaluable when it’s strong. If the government can weave that into the fabric of the Tech Prosperity Deal, Britain could do more than attract investment; it could build a digital future that people believe in.
Emma McGuigan is AI programme lead at BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT