The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has admitted that it won’t even read the responses to the Timms PIP review. The consultation responses will instead be run through AI and ‘consolidated’. This is despite the DWP recently attacking claimants for using AI, saying it could be used to cheat the system.
More bullshit from the Timms Review
On 19th March, the DWP finally opened their call for evidence for the Timms Review into PIP. It was, of course, absolute bullshit.
As The Canary’s Hannah Sharland pointed out, by calling it a ‘call for evidence’ instead of the typical consultation, they can get away with running it for only 10 weeks instead of the legal 12 weeks minimum for a consultation.
This could also be a cunts trick by the DWP to stop disabled campaigners from taking legal action. This is after the WCA consultation which ran for eight weeks was found to be unlawful.
As Sharland said
Of course, it speaks volumes that the DWP is giving disabled people – some of whom will need more time to engage – even less time than the standard amount to do so
This goes directly against the Minister for Disabled People, Stephen Timms, declaring
it is vital that as many people as possible have the chance to contribute.
Because it’s one thing to say that, but to actually enable disabled people to respond is another thing entirely.
The call for evidence has given respondents questions to answer, which of course focus solely on slyly restricting PIP. The questions are vague as fuck, but their agenda is clear – to highlight that too many claim PIP.
The DWP asks:
What has changed in wider society and the workplace since 2013 (and might be expected to change in the future), how has this impacted PIP and does PIP need to change accordingly?
the factors contributing to increased disability prevalence in society including different conditions, ages, people, and terminal illness
But the biggest proof that this is nothing but a tick box exercise to the DWP is who will be reading the results. Because, surprise, it won’t be a fucking human.
The Department for Work and Pensions will analyse and summarise responses and may use artificial intelligence to assist with the handling of responses
Yep that’s right, they want disabled people to do this extra labour, for it to be fed to the robots who will select the information it deems important
They clarify what the AI will be doing further down
DWP will create a summary response to support the steering group in consolidating the evidence received.
AI can arguably be used as an accessibility tool for those who struggle to read large amounts of text, as many of the steering group members may. However, its inclusion here feels much more like it’s being used against disabled people than to support them.
AI used to restrict responses, but not to support us
There’s also the fact that in this instance, it’s probably because the steering group have so little time to read answers, with just
The thing is, AI doesn’t (yet) have sentience, so it only does what it’s programmed to. That means the DWP could give the machine a very strict parameter of which answers to include and which they don’t. And if the choice is answers which support DWP’s rhetoric or ones that call them out, we know which ones they’ll favour.
What this means the only disabled people involved in the review will have the responses they see restricted. They won’t be given a full picture to work from, and this ‘summarising’ will affect their already limited influence on the review.
And then there’s the hypocrisy, which the DWP does best. Just a few weeks ago, they were leading a press campaign against disabled people who used AI to complete PIP forms.
The i Paper ran with:
The new PIP mistake making the DWP more suspicious of claimants than ever
The article accused disabled people of using AI tools, in combination with DWP handbooks that they’re fighting to keep hidden, as the DWP says
craft responses or scripts that mirror the exact requirements needed to score highly
Of course, this is utter bullshit. And the media, propping up the DWP’s hate, completely missed the point of why people felt they needed to use AI to complete forms. That the PIP assessment system is so soul-destroying and difficult to navigate without knowing exactly the right words to say. Not to mention that it’s a fucking 40-page form and you’re often given just days to complete it. For someone with limited energy or conditions affecting their intellectual abilities, it feels deliberate.
The DWP don’t care that they’re hypocrites
But of course, the DWP will use every weapon in their arsenal to destory disabled people, they don’t care about how hypocritical it makes them.
They know the public can be angered over benefit fraudsters cheating the system with AI, whilst they use AI against us. Because they control the narrative, and they’ve already turned the public against disabled people.
Featured image via the Canary
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