Generative AI: Transforming Public Services with Data and Efficiency
New developments in generative artificial intelligence (AI) are set to revolutionize public services, according to experts from the Civic Analytics Network. This community of city chief data officers, coordinated out of the Bloomberg Center for Cities at Harvard, envisions a future where generative AI becomes an integral part of every aspect of government operations.
Generative AI utilizes existing data and information to create novel content, and its potential applications in public service are vast. It has the power to enhance citizen engagement, policy analysis, operations, and decision-making processes. The chief data officers predict that AI will initially optimize government’s internal operations by utilizing natural language tools to query and process information. This includes tasks such as drafting documents, correspondence, and job descriptions. By organizing objective information from readily available sources, generative AI helps accelerate administrators’ access to best practices and technical expertise.
CIO Santiago Garces of Boston, known for leading the country in innovative government technology applications, shared his team’s use of generative AI in uncovering patterns from 311 call center reports. Garces employed ChatGPT, a powerful language model, to analyze graffiti-related issues. By outsourcing coding tasks to this tool, Garces’s team gains more time for in-depth analysis. With the introduction of new features like the Code Interpreter plug-in, ChatGPT becomes a junior-level data analyst capable of processing uploaded data in various coding languages for cleaning, analysis, and visualization. These advanced tools significantly reduce the time needed to process basic-level data, allowing for deeper investigations into specific urban issues.
Despite the potential benefits, challenges accompany the integration of generative AI into public services. An important prerequisite is a decent understanding of coding and statistics to effectively interact with AI systems. Clear and insightful questions must be framed, as AI lacks a complete understanding of intentions behind requests. Furthermore, AI may make mistakes when performing complex tasks like data modeling or generating visualizations. Human verification and identification of irregularities remain crucial for a safe interaction with the technology.
Another challenge lies in capturing tacit knowledge and incorporating it into AI systems. Tacit knowledge, gained through lived experience, plays a vital role in understanding complex urban issues. While data-driven analysis can reveal relationships and describe phenomena, it may not provide direct evidence to address the underlying reasons behind urban challenges. Incorporating the insights gained from in-person street-level work, where individuals observe localized circumstances in real time, can significantly enhance AI’s ability to understand urban issues comprehensively.
To address these challenges, chief data officers and their analytics teams must play a larger role in reviewing and arbitrating AI-driven analysis. Managing the proficiency of using AI, capturing tacit knowledge, and carefully verifying AI-generated results is vital.
Institutionalizing AI applications in public services requires constant adaptation due to the evolving nature of AI. A cautious approach, combined with technical expertise and respect for life experiences, is necessary when integrating this new technological companion.
While generative AI has the potential to transform public services, it is essential to strike a balance between leveraging AI’s capabilities and preserving the invaluable insights that come from human experiences. By navigating these challenges, governments can harness the power of generative AI to drive efficiency and effectiveness in delivering public services.
Governing’s opinion columns reflect the views of their authors, not necessarily those of the publication’s editors or management.
