AI and Public Engagement
Preparing Public Agencies for Harnessing AI: A Study on Variables Shaping Multi Actor Information Infrastructures
“While governments around the world are seeking to harness the power of artificial intelligence (AI), attaining high-quality information as input for training AI-models remains a major challenge. Policymakers looking to boost AI readiness in the public sector need high quality multi-actor Information infrastructures (MAIIs) to obtain high-quality information. It is unclear which fundamental decisions can be made to shape information-sharing infrastructures for governmental purposes, even though there is some literature on these infrastructures. The main goal of this paper is to identify key variables for shaping MAIIs. Drawing on literature, expert interviews and qualitative data analysis, this paper reveals multiple variables classified into three main categories: (1) information-sharing process, systems, and services, (2) information (format), and (3) governance structures. Findings indicate that considering these variables in an early stage is needed to maximise the benefits and limit the risk of failure in shaping an MAII.”
Read article AI and Public Engagement
AI in Digital Participation Tools - Where do we stand?
“Almost two years after the launch of ChatGPT propelled the topic of AI, we take stock of AI in digital participation tools. What features are well established, what is in development, and what are visions for the future? As it turns out, the functionalities in actual widespread use are few but tools in development and visions for the future are many.”
Read article AI and Public Engagement
The US Government Wants You—Yes, You—to Hunt Down Generative AI Flaws
“At the 2023 Defcon hacker conference in Las Vegas, prominent AI tech companies partnered with algorithmic integrity and transparency groups to sic thousands of attendees on generative AI platforms and find weaknesses in these critical systems. This “red-teaming” exercise, which also had support from the US government, took a step in opening these increasingly influential yet opaque systems to scrutiny. Now, the ethical AI and algorithmic assessment nonprofit Humane Intelligence is taking this model one step further. On Wednesday, the group announced a call for participation with the US National Institute of Standards and Technology, inviting any US resident to participate in the qualifying round of a nationwide red-teaming effort to evaluate AI office productivity software.”
Read article AI and Public Engagement
AI-Powered Search Drives Intelligent Texas Child Support Tool
“When the Texas Office of the Attorney General (OAG) looked at challenges facing child support field case workers, time-consuming research stood out as a major pain point. Reducing time spent finding the most current legal and practice documentation turned out to be a project that could be done with existing tools, creating a single knowledge base and a robust AI search tool for the OAG’s Child Support Division. CIO Tina McLeod and Chief Data Officer Antonia Hernandez were on hand during the Texas Association for Strategic Solutions and Collaboration in Computing (TASSCC) 2024 conference earlier this month, where they took a deep dive into creating an intelligent search engine.”
Read article AI and Public Engagement
Police have begun using AI to write incident reports
“Some police officers have begun using generative artificial intelligence to write their reports, concerning watchdogs and delighting the officers saved from the tedious office work, the Associated Press reported this week. Axon, a company mostly known for its body cameras and Taser product line, announced Draft One last April. The software, which draws information from body camera audio recordings, is already being used by officers in Oklahoma City; Fort Collins, Colorado; and Lafayette, Indiana, the AP reported. Competitors Policereports.ai and Truleo offer similar products.”
Read article AI and Public Engagement
Colorado County Adds AI to Its Emergency Communications
“In the coming weeks, Jeffcom 911 hopes to have the Carbyne Call Triage solution active, which will use AI in a unique way to address call surges. For example, if there is a large wildfire in the county, there is often a major influx of calls from people reporting smoke or fire. If the county is already responding to that incident, an influx of calls can deter resources from addressing other emergencies, like heart attacks. But with machine learning, this technology can identify the location of the incident that people are likely calling about. Screening calls to ensure callers are not reporting a major event that is already being addressed will allow the county to more effectively use the time of “that finite resource, which is the human,” Brewer said.”
Read article AI and Public Engagement
How to Build Progressive Public Services with Data Science and Artificial Intelligence
“The new government faces an urgent challenge: revitalising the UK's crumbling public services without major increases in public spending. While technological change holds promise, UK digital government initiatives have failed to reach their full potential over the past twenty-five years. This article argues that the latest generation of ‘data-intensive’ technologies, including data science and AI, can succeed where past efforts have faltered. We provide a roadmap for how to harness the power of recent technologies for a more productive and equitable public sector, and pinpoint the organisational changes necessary to develop progressive, technologically enhanced public services.”
Read article 
InnovateUS 
