<s>
Artificial	B-Application
intelligence	I-Application
(	O
AI	B-Application
)	O
has	O
a	O
range	O
of	O
uses	O
in	O
government	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
can	O
be	O
used	O
to	O
further	O
public	O
policy	O
objectives	O
(	O
in	O
areas	O
such	O
as	O
emergency	O
services	O
,	O
health	O
and	O
welfare	O
)	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
assist	O
the	O
public	O
to	O
interact	O
with	O
the	O
government	O
(	O
through	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
virtual	B-Protocol
assistants	I-Protocol
,	O
for	O
example	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
the	O
Harvard	O
Business	O
Review	O
,	O
"	O
Applications	B-Application
of	I-Application
artificial	I-Application
intelligence	I-Application
to	O
the	O
public	O
sector	O
are	O
broad	O
and	O
growing	O
,	O
with	O
early	O
experiments	O
taking	O
place	O
around	O
the	O
world.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Hila	O
Mehr	O
from	O
the	O
Ash	O
Center	O
for	O
Democratic	O
Governance	O
and	O
Innovation	O
at	O
Harvard	O
University	O
notes	O
that	O
AI	B-Application
in	I-Application
government	I-Application
is	O
not	O
new	O
,	O
with	O
postal	O
services	O
using	O
machine	O
methods	O
in	O
the	O
late	O
1990s	O
to	O
recognise	B-Application
handwriting	I-Application
on	O
envelopes	O
to	O
automatically	O
route	O
letters	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
use	O
of	O
AI	B-Application
in	I-Application
government	I-Application
comes	O
with	O
significant	O
benefits	O
,	O
including	O
efficiencies	O
resulting	O
in	O
cost	O
savings	O
(	O
for	O
instance	O
by	O
reducing	O
the	O
number	O
of	O
front	O
office	O
staff	O
)	O
,	O
and	O
reducing	O
the	O
opportunities	O
for	O
corruption	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
potential	O
uses	B-Application
of	I-Application
AI	I-Application
in	O
government	O
are	O
wide	O
and	O
varied	O
,	O
with	O
Deloitte	O
considering	O
that	O
"	O
Cognitive	O
technologies	O
could	O
eventually	O
revolutionize	O
every	O
facet	O
of	O
government	O
operations	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Mehr	O
suggests	O
that	O
six	O
types	O
of	O
government	O
problems	O
are	O
appropriate	O
for	O
AI	B-Application
applications	I-Application
:	O
</s>
<s>
Meher	O
states	O
that	O
"	O
While	O
applications	B-Application
of	I-Application
AI	I-Application
in	O
government	O
work	O
have	O
not	O
kept	O
pace	O
with	O
the	O
rapid	O
expansion	O
of	O
AI	B-Application
in	O
the	O
private	O
sector	O
,	O
the	O
potential	O
use	O
cases	O
in	O
the	O
public	O
sector	O
mirror	O
common	O
applications	O
in	O
the	O
private	O
sector.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Potential	O
and	O
actual	O
uses	B-Application
of	I-Application
AI	I-Application
in	O
government	O
can	O
be	O
divided	O
into	O
three	O
broad	O
categories	O
:	O
those	O
that	O
contribute	O
to	O
public	O
policy	O
objectives	O
;	O
those	O
that	O
assist	O
public	O
interactions	O
with	O
the	O
government	O
;	O
and	O
other	O
uses	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
are	O
a	O
range	O
of	O
examples	O
of	O
where	O
AI	B-Application
can	O
contribute	O
to	O
public	O
policy	O
objectives	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
AI	B-Application
can	O
be	O
used	O
to	O
assist	O
members	O
of	O
the	O
public	O
to	O
interact	O
with	O
government	O
and	O
access	O
government	O
services	O
,	O
for	O
example	O
by	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
Examples	O
of	O
virtual	B-Protocol
assistants	I-Protocol
or	O
chatbots	B-Application
being	O
used	O
by	O
government	O
include	O
the	O
following	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
Launched	O
in	O
February	O
2016	O
,	O
the	O
Australian	O
Taxation	O
Office	O
has	O
a	O
virtual	B-Protocol
assistant	I-Protocol
on	O
its	O
called	O
"	O
Alex	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Australia	O
's	O
National	O
Disability	O
Insurance	O
Scheme	O
(	O
NDIS	O
)	O
is	O
developing	O
a	O
virtual	B-Protocol
assistant	I-Protocol
called	O
"	O
Nadia	O
"	O
which	O
takes	O
the	O
form	O
of	O
an	O
avatar	B-Application
using	O
the	O
voice	O
of	O
actor	O
Cate	O
Blanchett	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Nadia	O
was	O
developed	O
using	O
IBM	B-Application
Watson	I-Application
,	O
however	O
,	O
the	O
Australian	O
Government	O
is	O
considering	O
other	O
platforms	O
such	O
as	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Cortana	I-Application
for	O
its	O
further	O
development	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Australian	O
Government	O
's	O
Department	O
of	O
Human	O
Services	O
uses	O
virtual	B-Protocol
assistants	I-Protocol
on	O
parts	O
of	O
its	O
to	O
answer	O
questions	O
and	O
encourage	O
users	O
to	O
stay	O
in	O
the	O
digital	O
channel	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
at	O
December	O
2018	O
,	O
a	O
virtual	B-Protocol
assistant	I-Protocol
called	O
"	O
Sam	O
"	O
could	O
answer	O
general	O
questions	O
about	O
family	O
,	O
job	O
seeker	O
and	O
student	O
payments	O
and	O
related	O
information	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
department	O
also	O
introduced	O
an	O
internally-facing	O
virtual	B-Protocol
assistant	I-Protocol
called	O
"	O
MelissHR	O
"	O
to	O
make	O
it	O
easier	O
for	O
departmental	O
staff	O
to	O
access	O
human	O
resources	O
information	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Estonia	O
is	O
building	O
a	O
virtual	B-Protocol
assistant	I-Protocol
which	O
will	O
guide	O
citizens	O
through	O
any	O
interactions	O
they	O
have	O
with	O
the	O
government	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Other	O
uses	B-Application
of	I-Application
AI	I-Application
in	O
government	O
include	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
AI	B-Application
offers	O
potential	O
efficiencies	O
and	O
costs	O
savings	O
for	O
the	O
government	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
can	O
re-employ	O
workers’	O
time	O
towards	O
more	O
rewarding	O
work	O
that	O
requires	O
lateral	O
thinking	O
,	O
empathy	O
,	O
and	O
creativity	O
—	O
all	O
things	O
at	O
which	O
humans	O
continue	O
to	O
outperform	O
even	O
the	O
most	O
sophisticated	O
AI	B-Application
program.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Potential	O
risks	O
associated	O
with	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
AI	B-Application
in	I-Application
government	I-Application
include	O
AI	B-Application
becoming	O
susceptible	O
to	O
bias	O
,	O
a	O
lack	O
of	O
transparency	O
in	O
how	O
an	O
AI	B-Application
application	I-Application
may	O
make	O
decisions	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
accountability	O
for	O
any	O
such	O
decisions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
AI	B-Application
in	O
governance	O
and	O
the	O
economic	O
world	O
can	O
make	O
the	O
market	O
more	O
difficult	O
for	O
companies	O
to	O
keep	O
up	O
with	O
the	O
increases	O
in	O
technology	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
gives	O
them	O
an	O
unfair	O
advantage	O
over	O
companies	O
that	O
do	O
not	O
have	O
the	O
means	O
of	O
advancing	O
as	O
far	O
in	O
the	O
digital	O
technology	O
fields	O
with	O
AI	B-Application
.	O
</s>
