Using AI to Modernize Old Techniques

Artificial Intelligence is being implemented across government to modernize and automate traditional manual processes. For many organizations, this means taking paper-based, tedious, error-prone tasks and turning them over to a machine for automated completion. Beyond using AI to hand off tasks best completed by machines -- those that are rote and repetitive -- agencies are also looking at ways to introduce the technology into already complex human-driven activities to make them even more effective and efficient.

Researchers at Dartmouth College's Department of Computer Science have taken a technique that proved valuable in WWII and applied AI to extend the usefulness of the method. A canary trap is a technique that plants different instances of false information in documents. If one of those documents is leaked, the canary will "sing," identifying the leaker. For example, in WWII British intelligence agents planted false documents on a corpse to trick Nazi Germany into preparing for an assault on Greece while the Allies invaded Sicily. The team at Dartmouth created a modern version, WE-FORGE, that plants different instances of false information in documents. The process is relatively simple when creating a small number of variations in a handful of documents, but to extend it to large scientific or technical documents, AI is essential. WE-FORGE uses natural language processing to generate multiple fake files that are believable yet incorrect.

Simulation-based medical training has long been used, but teams are now using AI to compare the performance of medical trainees on specific medical tasks -- such as suturing wounds -- to that of experts whose precise hand movements or physical orientations have been captured and analyzed with artificial intelligence. This makes feedback on performance more objective rather than subjective as it takes personal observation and bias out of the process.

With all of this innovation comes the need for additional oversight. In the financial sector, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the National Credit Union Administration, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency issued a request for information (RFI) in the Federal Register seeking feedback on AI uses and risk management in the financial sector. This RFI seeks to "understand respondents' views on the use of AI by financial institutions." It allows these agencies to ask institutions about what assistance, regulations, laws, and the like would help the sector better manage the promise and risk of AI.

To stay on top of the applications and challenges of AI, check out some of these upcoming events and resources.

• Leverage AI to Boost Decision Intelligence for Better Business Outcomes (June 2, 2021; webcast) -- This Gartner webinar aims to help you instill better decision intelligence so your organization can make more impactful data-driven decisions. Learn the elements that increase the complexity of decision ecosystems, explore how complex decision techniques are combined, and discover how decision modeling addresses the new decision-making challenges.
• Chief Data Officers Digital Roundtable: Issues in Data Governance (June 9, 2021; webcast) -- This event brings together a panel of Chief Data Officers and industry leaders for dynamic discussion around the evolving challenges surrounding Data as a Strategic Asset. The discussion will cover critical topics in data, artificial intelligence, and machine learning within the government.
• Artificial Intelligence 101: Using Powerful AI Tools is Easier Than You Think (June 10, 2021; webcast) -- Take a real-world look at how your organization can leverage the power of AI to help constituents. Hint: It's easier than you think. You'll learn how other state and local agencies are using AI today to make a real impact - and how you can get started, too.
• Ai4 2021 (August 17-19, 2021; virtual) -- The Ai4 2021 Summit brings together business leaders and data practitioners to facilitate the adoption of artificial intelligence and machine learning technology within the various industries. With a use-case oriented approach to content, it delivers actionable insights from those working on the frontlines of AI in the enterprise.
• Government by Algorithm: Artificial Intelligence in Federal Administrative Agencies (white paper) -- Rapid developments in AI have the potential to reduce the cost of core governance functions, improve the quality of decisions, and unleash the power of administrative data, thereby making government performance more efficient and effective. Agencies that use AI to realize these gains will also confront important questions about the proper design of algorithms and user interfaces, the respective scope of human and machine decision-making, the boundaries between public actions and private contracting, their own capacity to learn over time using AI, and whether the use of AI is even permitted.
• Agency Use of Artificial Intelligence (white paper) -- This paper identifies issues agencies should consider when adopting or modifying AI systems and developing practices and procedures for their use and regular monitoring. The paper draws on a pair of reports commissioned by the Administrative Conference, as well as the input of AI experts from government, academia, and the private sector provided at meetings.

Be sure to check out GovEvents for a complete listing of AI-related conferences, virtual events, and webinars, and GovWhitePapers for 1000+ white papers, case studies, and infographics.