Ottawa turns to artificial intelligence for solutions to benefits service issues

Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour Patty Hajdu speaks with Lori Sterling, deputy minister of Labour and associate deputy minister of Employment and Social Development, as they appear at a Commons human resources committee hearing on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Monday, Feb. 12, 2018. Federal officials overseeing billions in benefit payments to millions of Canadians are hoping machine learning tools can solve ongoing snags in the system. Federal officials overseeing billions in benefit payments to millions of Canadians are hoping artificial intelligence can resolve ongoing snags in the system. The government is looking to "push the boundaries" of what artificial intelligence can do to improve a variety of services, including the pace of benefit decisions to Canadians applying for disability pensions, say documents obtained by The Canadian Press under the access to information law. Employment and Social Development Canada is currently facing processes that are "slow, inefficient, inconsistent, and prone to error," reads a presentation about the AI efforts.