AI: Delivering meaningful benefits at scale

As the drive to invest in Artificial Intelligence (AI) continues to gain pace, local authorities are being offered an array of exciting opportunities. The difficulty, however, is in gaining clarity in a market that is still immature. How can local government differentiate between hype and genuine promise when the application of AI remains prototype-led? Ideas and proof of concepts proliferate, but where is the proven solution that can be industrialised for widespread use? One-off, point solutions are adding to the AI hyperbole, but they are not delivering the tangible benefits required. 

We need to reframe the discussion. Local government shouldn’t be asking vendors what they are ‘doing about AI’. AI is not a stand-alone panacea to public sector problems. What decision makers need to know is how vendors are going to deliver meaningful change at scale with productised solutions that enhance existing core platforms. Scott Goodwin, Director, Land Property and Public Protection at Idox, explains the importance of identifying where and how processes can be enhanced using AI within existing systems to provide tangible benefits to both staff and citizens.

Reframing AI

With central government policy firmly aligned to technology-enabled innovation to improve productivity and responsiveness, local authorities are under pressure to adopt AI. Many local government departments are exploring the use of widely available Generative AI tools, such as CoPilot, to save time and money. Admin-intensive activities, such as generating job descriptions, are a prime example of a routine, repeatable process that can be accomplished efficiently with AI, delivering tangible efficiency gains across local government.

Despite the hype, however, there are few examples of embedded, meaningful use of AI in specific tasks that relate directly to servicing the citizen. For local authority decision makers, sifting through the constant stream of ‘innovative’ uses of AI has become an overwhelming task. Look beyond the headlines, and where are the proven, industrialised AI solutions? 

Meaningful solutions

Clarity is urgently required, and that can only be achieved if we reframe the conversation. Rather than the distraction of multiple, glossy AI-inspired ideas, it is important to take a step back, look at existing processes and identify areas that could benefit from the undoubted potential of AI. It is by taking that conversation to a supplier, highlighting the value of using AI to enhance specific processes, that will change the narrative. Rather than unfocused developments and proof of concepts that have little chance of being delivered at scale, local government decision makers can plan based on a trusted commitment to product innovation that directly reflects operational needs.

Idox has adopted an extremely pragmatic AI strategy informed by a dedicated AI committee. This senior-level think tank has spent the last 18 months undertaking extensive research to identify areas where AI can be productised as an additive component of our core products. We have reviewed the progress of AI tools and, critically, assessed how and where innovation translates into real implementations of technology that impact the day-to-day activity of local government.

The result has been a focus on both internal development and external collaboration. Exploring the extraordinary new businesses that have invested in innovative AI expertise and technologies has identified organisations that are bringing both dynamic AI knowledge and industry-challenging ideas. By partnering with companies that can deliver tangible value to our customers in niche areas such as planning and public protection, Idox can deliver leading-edge, proven AI development into local government, within a trusted product solution and unmatched market expertise.

What is required is productised AI deployments that can be used at scale to deliver measurable benefits throughout local government. Right now, however, decision makers are being asked to invest in unproven, stand-alone technologies.

Idox is exploring how best to leverage the established, widely available AI models to further enrich our product set.

Process-driven innovation

Taking the partnership route enables Idox to leverage start-up innovation in niche areas of AI in a way that is frictionless for our customers.  Over the next few weeks and months, we will introduce these relationships to our customer base and release new functionality to our product set. These solutions are not generic AI developments but clearly defined use-cases that require specific AI capabilities to resolve complex problems. Speeding up processes by removing time-consuming, manual administrative tasks will enable staff to focus on the areas that demand their skills and expertise.  At the same time, Idox is exploring how best to leverage the established, widely available AI models to further enrich our product set. 

As the use of AI within our products expands, Idox’s AI Committee has extended its scope to consider product design principles – for example, ensuring users have a full understanding of where and when AI has undertaken a task and what a person has contributed. This transparency is vital to delivering the ‘human in the loop’ that is widely recognised as key to ensuring effective and ethical utilisation of AI. 

Reinforcing local government relevance

At every stage of the process, the question has to be: how will AI deliver meaningful benefit? The objective of every new AI-enabled feature and function within the Idox product set is to improve specific processes in a way that enhances the day-to-day experience of individuals throughout local government. As such, it is also essential that tools are developed specifically for the UK public sector. They must be trained on existing planning policy, using historic and current planning data, for example, to provide appropriate learning outcomes that accurately and actively assist case officers to be more productive.

This commitment aligns closely with the recognition that local government cannot simply be told to adopt AI. They need to be prepared, both technically and culturally. While the pressure to adopt is significant, the risks are not inconsiderable. Where is the support for a local authority that invests in a stand-alone AI proof of concept solution that cannot be adopted at scale? Local authorities need to adopt standards and establish processes for facilitating data sharing with the appropriate controls and legal governance. They need to ensure the human/ AI interaction is understood and embedded within processes.

This is where trusted suppliers are going to play a vital role. Idox has been working closely with a group of local authorities to understand their needs and readiness for AI. Now we are at the product stage, the feedback from this working group, following testing, will inform the full rollout and ensure any additional AI-enabled functionality is industrialised and can be delivered at scale.

Conclusion

AI has the power to deliver meaningful change that enables local government to be more productive and effective day to day. Over the next few weeks, we will introduce AI that can transform part of the planning process, eradicating significant administrative overhead and waste.

This innovation will not only improve productivity for our working group but also show how that improvement can be delivered across other areas of their process. Critically, it will also underpin the successful use of AI at scale within planning departments throughout the country, frictionlessly achieving the goals of the UK government.

Speak to our team to learn about the AI opportunities for your local authority. Contact your Account Manager or email [email protected] to find out more.