Reimagining Government and Public Services with AI

With the hype surrounding AI, it’s no secret that forward thinking leaders are identifying unique and efficient ways to use this technology across a diverse range of industries, rapidly transforming the way organizations in retail, tech, finance – and yes, even government – operate.??

Although its applications are vast, one area that AI is quickly taking to the next level is marketing and advertising. The technology has helped craft impactful messages at a pace we’ve never seen before, leaving marketers and advertisers with more time to find innovative approaches to engage target audiences.?

When it comes to government and public service (GPS) organizations, the integration of AI is a long-awaited advancement that promises to elevate not only operations but also our communication efforts, providing new opportunities to reach relevant communities. By integrating AI into our approach, we can shift our focus to what really matters: identifying and serving public needs.??

Expanding GPS Communication Efforts?

With the GPS sector providing services as vast as education, healthcare, infrastructure, defense, law enforcement, and social welfare, it’s no surprise that its agencies require just as much attention on communication efforts as traditional businesses, just in different capacities.??

As the CMO of the GPS practice area within Deloitte, my team and I are responsible for identifying these opportunities for our clients, in support of driving public awareness, trust, transparency, and adoption of programs and policies.??

With AI as our ally, we adapt what’s being done in the private sector to leverage the technology for improved data analysis, communication, personalization, and overall efficiency. Here are just a few ways in which I’ve already seen AI influence these efforts.?

Automation of Repetitive Tasks?

The transformation of task automation has emerged as a pivotal breakthrough, especially in alleviating 'busy work' – those indispensable yet time-consuming tasks. Envision AI as a virtual assistant, a catalyst for advancing task management. In one powerful example, AT&T’s deployment of “automation bots” to perform tasks like data entry has saved the telecommunications company 16.9 million minutes of manual effort each year, with a remarkable 20x return on investment. This showcases the sheer magnitude of AI’s capability for transforming and improving business operations.?

Likewise, we’ve seen this done across many GPS organizations. In one example, Deloitte helped a federal agency streamline its processes when reviewing public feedback on regulatory matters. Recognizing the typically time-consuming nature of this task, especially under tight deadlines, the team devised a suite of proprietary AI tools to expedite the process. This initiative not only saved time but also enabled the agency to identify and tackle the most relevant public concerns promptly. Consequently, this endeavor led to notable enhancements in their operational processes, fostering increased structure and transparency. Ultimately, the agency succeeded in delivering regulations that effectively addressed the public's needs.??

Lightning-Fast Data Analysis to Drive Outcomes?

Similar to its use in task automation, AI can be leveraged to sort through vast amounts of data at record speeds, saving both money and time across organizations. In the AT&T example, the company also leverages AI to identify unnecessary overage charges associated with its voice, video, messaging, and meeting services, analyzing more than 21,000 customer records per minute.??

There is so much GPS organizations can do with this capability, including analyzing data to assess and iterate on outreach efforts from campaign performance to messaging and more. The more we know about the public, the better we can understand what resonates with them, what doesn't, and how we can redirect our efforts to better address their needs.??

Deloitte recently partnered with a federal health agency to enhance community engagement and population health. To help kick-start this project, the team used HealthPrism? analytics to identify areas with high prevalence of specific health conditions, establishing correlations between health outcomes and social determinants. By leveraging advanced data analytics, we were able to support the agency with targeted outreach to address health disparities. This example underscores the transformative potential of leveraging AI to turn data into public health solutions.????

In another example, Deloitte partnered with a top university to help them better understand their key demographics to increase enrollment. By using the Candidate360? solution that uses AI and ML predictive models for data analysis, we were able to assist the recruiters and enrollment directors in crafting strategic plans to target new prospects while limiting time and resources. Through this initiative, the university saw increased enrollment and revenue.??

Predictive analytics allows us to work smarter not harder by analyzing patterns, anticipating citizen needs and behaviors so we can fine-tune our strategy and approach. Forecasting future outcomes with the help of AI has been a monumental step in outreach, reducing trial and error for programs that are successful the first time around.??

Decoding Policy for Public Adoption?

In GPS, as in any industry, communication and connection-building rely on personalized and compelling messaging. Public policy and procedural language can be dense and, at times, challenging to digest. To ensure proper communication, organizations are using AI to enhance their efforts by identifying how to deliver specific types of messaging, along with the most effective vehicles for it. This not only helps to enable understanding and adoption, but can also work wonders for nurturing trust and increasing dialogue. To put it simply, the easier our messaging is to digest, the greater the chances of it resonating and inspiring action.?

?A recent collaboration between Deloitte and a state public health agency demonstrates the impact of accurately communicating complex messaging. The agency was facing a surge of highly technical questions from workers seeking answers about the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programs. However, answering each question required navigating through thousands of pages of complex policy documents. To streamline this process and provide personalized support, Deloitte helped the agency develop a GenAI-powered policy engine that transforms complex documents into searchable systems. With access to these tools, the staff can now provide helpful and effective responses.??

Slow and Steady Wins the Race?

As we begin experimenting with and incorporating AI into our workstreams, establishing clear guidelines for reducing risk is paramount to using the technology responsibly and purposefully to mitigate any risks. Before going all in, GPS entities – like all other organizations – must take the time to develop policies for prioritizing user transparency, ethical data collection, security, and compliance.?

In alignment with this policy, Deloitte introduced its Trustworthy AI? framework to tackle risk concerns across seven key dimensions. Through continuous analysis and monitoring, bias can be substantially reduced, thereby ensuring that outreach and engagement efforts remain citizen-centric and ethical. Frameworks like these are key to successfully adopting AI and ensuring that we're responsibly optimizing the technology.?

Similarly, Adobe has done an excellent job in setting a standard for responsible and ethical AI use with its generative AI design tool, Firefly. Firefly is a design tool that allows users to bring their creative visions to life by prompting the tool with a description of their desired image. To ensure that its image outputs are commercially safe, Adobe trains its AI on images that are already free and clear to use, such as those from Adobe Stock and public domains. This commitment to transparency reduces privacy and copyright concerns for public and private sector organizations using the tool, ultimately providing peace of mind.?

Unlike Adobe, most other generative AI technologies like ChatGPT are trained on multiple datasets and pull from various sources. While the tool is still helpful and possesses great potential, it raises concern regarding privacy, data leaks, plagiarism, and biases that could potentially spread misinformation. Before organizations jump headfirst into AI applications, ethical standards must be established, and regulatory considerations must be addressed.?

I recognize that progress can only be measured one step at a time. Although the future may not promise flying cars (well, maybe...), I believe that emerging technologies will improve our lives, including reimagining how government and public service agencies can better serve the greater good.???