The federal government just released its report of public consultations into the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) within the public service. The final AI strategy is still to come (set for Spring of this year) but will build on the framework, priorities, and issues set out here.
The government sees four pillars to govern the use of AI:
I. Human-centred – putting people first.
II. Collaborative – sharing best practices, resources, data, expertise and even computing power.
III. Ready – scalable and secure AI systems, reliable and trusted data, an in-house AI capabilities to better manage infrastructure and reduce reliance on external vendors.
IV.Trusted – transparency and accountability in AI use and an understanding of biases in AI models.
Many potential uses of AI were identified. These included:
- Administrative efficiency: Using AI to automate the creation, sorting and managing of documents
- Public service delivery: Using AI-powered chatbots to respond to routine enquiries from citizens.
- Data analysis and decision support: Using AI to analyze large data sets to help identify patterns and predict trends in such areas as public health, environment, and economic forecasting, and directing resources to priority areas of need.
- Human resources: UsingAI to streamline the recruitment process, saving time in scheduling and screening applicants.
- Security and compliance: Using AI to detect and prevent fraud in government operations and activities
- Environmental management: Using AI to optimize the use of natural resources by analyzing data on consumption and availability, as well as modelling the impcats of climate change.
- Public engagement: Using AI to analyze public sentiment expressed on social media platforms and in the media to support government consultation processes.
- Legal and judicial support: Using AI to review legal documents for compliance with legal standards.
Overall, the consultations settled on four main areas of focus: procurement, sustainable AI practices, talent and training, and ethical use.
Procurement – Shifting to a more agile, value-based procurement model and away from reliance on simply meeting technical requirements and specifications.
Sustainable AI – Ensuring AI is mobilized in as much of an energy-efficient manner
as possible, given its large demand on electricity supply to power itself.
Talent and Training – Equipping public servants on how to use AI and become increasingly proficient at it and being competitive in the recruitment and retention of AI expertise into the federal government.
Ethical Use – Establishing and maintaining trust in how government uses AI be being transparent and accountable in its applications.
At the same time, there were discussions on where NOT to use AI. Concern that AI could bring in automated biases into decision-making or, worse, replace human decision making in such sensitive areas as criminal justice, social services, and overall policy making were raised. Civil liberty issues were noted should AI be utilized for surveillance and mass data collection.
This report is an input into the government’s planned AI strategy. What that looks like, and what kind of resources are committed to it, remain to be seen.
