For the last 20 years, the research on artificial intelligence has been very aggressive, which has resulted in great innovations. Big data, robotics, medical research, and autonomous vehicles are some of the applications that emerged from AI development. Government interest in AI has picked up in recent years as many government departments started to invest in AI in the form of pilot programs for various AI-based applications. AI adoption acts as a lever for transformational change in the way government services are conceived, designed, delivered, and consumed. It helps the government to provide integrated services to its citizens through the seamless flow of information across government departments.

This article was originally published in the Autumn 2019 issue of The Record. Subscribe for FREE here to get the next issues delivered directly to your inbox. We are now well aware millennials and Generation Z have different expectations to their parents. With globalisation and the democratisation of knowledge, enabled by the internet and mobile devices, the average citizen is consuming services of all kinds in an entirely new way. From renewing your car tax from your phone and having a video chat with your doctor, we now expect to access healthcare, government and educational services in a similarly convenient way, and artificial intelligence (AI) is often the solution to providing it.

In recent years, the proliferation of digital technologies has created multiple customer service channels and touchpoints through which citizens can access online government services. Unfortunately, user experience is often overlooked in the design and deployment of these new digital services. Citizens' expectations of service are shaped not only by their interactions with government agencies, but also by their everyday digital experiences. For example, a recent Accenture survey of over 5,000 citizens from five countries found that as they encounter more user-friendly AI solutions in their daily lives, expectations for government use of these technologies increase. In this changing environment, the need for a convenient and seamless customer experience across all engagement channels has never been more pressing.

Over the last 20 years, the ongoing digital revolution has brought massive changes to the way most of us work and live. Artificial Intelligence (AI) will offer even faster and deeper change. Forward-looking government leaders are acting now to prepare public sector organizations to fulfill of the full promise of AI. They are blazing a trail for AI to free up their employees and serve citizens more effectively. AI is on track to make a bigger impact on business and society than any previous technology.

Last month the Congressional Subcommittee on Information Technology began a three-part series of hearings to break through the myths and the hype to gain a real understanding of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the role it can play in the Federal government. While the first hearing focused on industry and academic experts, Wednesday's hearing saw testimony exclusively from government leaders, including representatives from Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), General Services Administration (GSA), National Science Foundation (NSF), and Department of Homeland Security (DHS). During the hearing one point was raised that bears repeating–AI isn't science fiction, its science reality. "When people hear'artificial intelligence,' their minds often wander to the realm of science fiction," said Keith Nakasone, deputy assistant commissioner, acquisition operations, Office of Information Technology Category, GSA. "There is also a belief that AI is in the future, rather than in the present. Concerted effort by policymakers of all levels to help change this narrative will be critical in promoting acceptance and adoption of AI by more and more entities."

From online services like Netflix and Facebook, to chatbots on our phones and in our homes like Siri and Alexa, we are beginning to interact with artificial intelligence (AI) on a near daily basis. AI is the programming or training of a computer to do tasks typically reserved for human intelligence, whether it is recommending which movie to watch next or answering technical questions. From small cities in the US to countries like Japan, government agencies are looking to AI to improve citizen services. While the potential future use cases of AI in government remain bounded by government resources and the limits of both human creativity and trust in government, the most obvious and immediately beneficial opportunities are those where AI can reduce administrative burdens, help resolve resource allocation problems, and take on significantly complex tasks. For many systemic reasons, government has much room from improvement when it comes to technological advancement, and AI will not solve those problems.

Many people are very skeptical of the governments adoption of AI to take over management of its citizen services, but which gender is more comfortable with this decision? The answer to that question, by way of surveys, is men. More men than women feel more comfortable with this technology shift. According to a report that was published by Accenture, men and women were surveyed on how they felt with AI taking over citizen services in 6 different categories. In all six, men trusted AI more than women did.

A majority of people are skeptical of the government adopting artificial intelligence tools to manage its citizen services, but more men than women say they are comfortable with the technological shift, according to a new survey. In a report published by Accenture, one-third of men said they trusted AI to manage their health care, while only 20 percent of women felt the same way. Though the gender gap was widest for health care, researchers found that in six different categories of citizen services, men trusted A.I. technology more than women did. The online survey was conducted by McGuire Research Services in January 2017 and included 500 people living in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. Though agencies have already begun delegating some of their repetitive tasks to artificial intelligence, the overall results show a sizable portion of the public distrusts the use of such tools in government services that directly involve citizens. Both genders felt roughly the same about using AI to register to vote, with 46 percent of men and 45 percent of women saying they trusted such government tools.

This story was originally published by Data-Smart City Solutions. It was excerpted from a paper "Artificial Intelligence for Citizen Services and Government" written by Harvard Ash Center Technology and Democracy Fellow Hila Mehr. From online services like Netflix and Facebook, to chatbots on our phones and in our homes like Siri and Alexa, we are beginning to interact with artificial intelligence (AI) on a near daily basis. AI is the programming or training of a computer to do tasks typically reserved for human intelligence, whether it is recommending which movie to watch next or answering technical questions. From small cities in the US to countries like Japan, government agencies are looking to AI to improve citizen services.

When heavy August rain flooded Louisiana neighborhoods, residents self-organized in online communities to reach out for help. For federal service providers, the problem was taking all that information and using it to provide assistance. "The difficulty was how do you take that data and make it A) digestible and B) actionable in a way, or even to be able to spot trends before they happen," said Justin Herman, SocialGov community leader at the General Services Administration. "This isn't just like an outreach thing, this isn't just a chatbot thing, this is being able to look at where to provide lifesaving food, water, shelter into areas." Register for the Ask the CIO Chat with Andy Ozment of the Homeland Security Department on Oct. 11, at 1:30 p.m.