An Introduction to the Series

Artificial Intelligence.? It is certainly the buzz word at the moment across the industry isn’t it?? With such large leaps forward in recent years, the past 12 months, and with the significant improvements in Large Language Models, it is understandable.? Who hasn’t jumped onto ChatGPT at some point and asked it a question, or to write something simple for them to just see what it can do?

With such accessibility and ease, we are entering a new era for AI - for the first time, the capabilities aren’t buried the form of Data Led Machine Learning, or predictive algorithms, which whilst they are been hugely powerful, aren’t something the mass population would interact with or leverage in the way they have new tools like ChatGPT.

Tools which democratise Language and Images however – these are every day experiences for the majority of the population, and the shift in mindset and desire to engage that has come with the leaps in these areas of the AI movement are the ones that have captivated the imagination and are spawning ideas that we at Microsoft have the privilege of helping to build and deliver on a daily basis.

In the world of Local Government, we are seeing a huge interest in how AI can be applied.? After years of Austerity and funding cuts, Local Government find themselves in a position where even after the recent budget settlement, the LGA predict Local Authorities in the UK still face a funding gap of ￡4 billion over the next 18 months.

Austerity and cuts aren’t new and the reality for most authorities is that what can be cut has been cut, and the reality is the only way forwards now is in process efficiency to create capacity, cost reduction in service delivery, or revenue generation.

It is for these reasons the appeal of AI is proving so strong in the sector.? The opportunities that can come from the responsible use of Artificial Intelligence are broad, and we are already seeing fascinating use cases already being built out, from improving productivity, to deflecting calls to the contact centre, quickly summarising those calls that do need a contact centre interaction, preparing case notes for a visit, translating documents, planning a days routes all the way to image recognition to spot and remove graffiti, fly tipping or a pot hole to fill.? It seems in every discussion we have, no matter who you speak to, at what level, in which department of the authority, there is an idea which can be built on, and a different type of ROI to help the pressures being faced.

In exploring these ideas, I am regularly being asked the same questions from leaders in local authorities – Where do we start? How do we create a policy and framework for AI in our council?? Do we build it or buy it? What do we need to consider from a Responsible Use of AI perspective?

Over the coming weeks, I am planning to write out a series of blog posts, intended to educate on AI, to share use cases, some of the best practices we are seeing across not just the Local Government sector, but across others, to share some of the most exciting use cases we are seeing being implemented, and provide some thoughts on these questions.? They aren’t designed to answer them all – but hopefully they will provide some food for thought.?

I’ll also try and cover off some of the different types of AI we are seeing, and do some jargon busting to hopefully help increase understanding and get your own ideas flowing!

I will be posting a different blog each week over the next few weeks, ranging from discussing Generative AI, what is Co-Pilot, what other use cases are councils looking at leveraging AI that isn’t based on Large Language models, and more.