Artificial Intelligence for Citizen Services Programs in Action
In this section find and contribute quick reference links to current programs, initiatives, pilots, events, RFIs, or other efforts in progress.
This section is in the early stages of development and should not be considered comprehensive.
U.S. Army
Ask SGT STAR “…SGT STAR is your virtual guide to goarmy.com. He’s here to help answer any questions you have about the Army. Just type in what you’re looking for and he’ll find the information you need - fast..”
General Services Administration
AI Augmentation of Call and Contact Centers: Teams at Federal Acquisition Services and Technology Transformation Services are currently working on solutions for Call and Contact Centers that use AI augmentation to reduce the volume of repetitious customer service requests and free up resources to better complete requests that require deeper subject matter expertise.
AI Augmentation of the FASTlane Acquisition Process: “…an initiative to develop a proof of concept for DLT (Distributed Ledger Technology), automated machine learning technology, and/or artificial intelligence based exchange implementation into GSA’s Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) FAStlane new offer proposal review processes.”
Department of Health and Human Services
National Cancer Institute’s Smokefree.gov is working on a pilot to create a quit-smoking support chatbot that could address the needs of individual smokers via an adaptive artificial intelligence platform. The goal is to create a minimum viable product that can help launch Smokefree.gov into the AI space. Ultimately, they want to create a robust platform that’s engaging for the consumer, as well as being a viable clinical tool to support smoking cessation. This project was selected to participate on the 7th round of the HHS Ignite Accelerator.
Department of Homeland Security – U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
Ask EMMA. “…Meet “Emma,” a computer-generated virtual assistant who can answer your questions and even take you to the right spot on our website. Emma is named for Emma Lazarus, who wrote the poem inscribed at the base of the Statue of Liberty about helping immigrants. Inspired by her namesake, our Emma can help you find the immigration information you need.”
Department of Housing and Urban Development
HUD Customer Service Bot. The HUD Digital Services Team has built a prototype chat bot using Microsoft’s Bot Framework and QnA Maker. We’re continuing to make improvements to it and test it with staff inside HUD and eventually citizens as well. This is still very much a prototype to demonstrate some possibilities. The Bot Framework provides the foundation of making the bot work and accessible on the web. The QnA Maker provides NLP capability without having to build intents, utterances, etc. Our chat bot is HUD’s first exploration of AI. The purpose of HUD’s chat bot is to provide a front-line of help for citizens looking for information about rental assistance, information about HUD programs, and procedures for sending discrimination complaints. We want the chat bot to assist HUD in delivering accurate, easy-to-find information at the medium of the citizen’s choice: web, Facebook, SMS, etc. Further down the road, we want to integrate the chat bot with our CRM solution to facilitate case intake and servicing by HUD customer service staff. For more information, visit the open source repository.
Department of State
Through the Virtual Student Foreign Service (VSFS) program, any federal agency can task students to work on projects that advance the work of government on multiple fronts, including Artificial Intelligence and Blockchain. Projects include helping counter violent extremism, strengthening human rights monitoring, developing virtual programs, engaging in digital communications, mapping, economic and political reporting, data analysis, graphic design, and app building.
Artificial Intelligence and Foreign Affairs. Create an AI chatbot trained on a dataset of press releases and spokesperson statements which can answer questions about US foreign policy. Size of Program: 2. Office: EAP/RSP.
Artificial intelligence policy: Program Description: We’re going to explore the international implications of artificial intelligence. Size of Program: 2. Office: E/STAS.
Emerging tech- quantum, blockchain, gene editing, AI: Program Description: Help us understand what other countries are up to with emerging technology. Size of Program: 4. Office: E/STAS.
Watson AI ability to assist human mechanics: Army officials are using IBM’s Watson AI system in combination with onboard sensor data, repair manuals and 15 years of maintenance data to predict mechanical problems before they happen.. Size of Program: 4.
U.S. State and Local Government
State and local government agencies are a core partner in our federal emerging technology initiatives, and often are positioned to take a leading role in providing new services at the forefront of the citizen to public service relationship.
State of Georgia: Ask GeorgiaGov. “…over the last few months we have been working hard with our development partners at Acquia Labs to publish Ask GeorgiaGov, an Alexa skill. Anyone with an Amazon Echo, Echo Dot, or Alexa on their tablet can now ask several Georgia state service related questions like how to renew your driver’s license or get a fishing permit.”
State of Mississippi: Ask Mississippi. “…Mississippi’s integration with Alexa Voice Services provides citizens with renewal reminders, popular ms.gov data, state facts, and more – instantly.”
State of Utah: Ask Utah.gov. “…In a tradition of embracing new technology Utah.Gov has started exploring new possibilities with voice testing for a Utah driver’s license. The possibilities are endless when the skills of a digital assistant and voice interaction are employed.”