The British government is preparing to introduce an artificial intelligence chatbot for the public to interact with on issues such as paying taxes and accessing pension benefits.
Continuing his push for a more digital future, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is set to fundamentally change how the public interfaces with the government, with his government preparing to launch an AI service dubbed “Gov.uk Chat”, The Telegraph reported.
According to the paper, a government document describes the system as a “natural language interface” that would be able to give a “human-like response” to people with inquiries about government services.
“Gov.uk Chat is designed to help users to navigate information on Gov.uk, similar to a search function, so in order to provide answers to users it needs all the data it has to provide the most accurate answer,” it stated.
The chatbot, which is currently being tested with businesses, would allow the public to ask it questions and request information about their taxes, student loans, pension benefits, and legal questions.
The Artificial Intelligence chatbot will be based on technology provided by OpenAI, the U.S.-based tech firm behind the ChatGPT chatbot, the fastest-growing consumer software application ever.
The AI program will use a language model similar to ChatGPT that will be trained on the Gov.uk website, which contains millions of pages of information on government services.
The system will allegedly not have access to the citizens’ data, however, if a user enters their data into the system, it will be sent to the OpenAI’s servers in the United States for processing.
Cabinet Office Minister Alex Burghart said of the chatbot system: “The pilot will explore the possible uses for AI on GOV.UK with a focus on improving user experience. This includes exploring how business owners can more easily navigate complex information and find the support they need.
“No personal data will be used as part of this pilot, and we will always uphold our high standards and legal duties when it comes to data protection.”
In a speech earlier this month, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said that artificial intelligence will “bring a transformation as far-reaching as the industrial revolution, the coming of electricity, or the birth of the internet”.
Sunak, who married into the tech elite of India, went on to say that AI is already being implemented in government systems to cut down on time spent on paperwork and to reduce benefit fraud, saying: “Just imagine the benefits of that rolled out across the whole of government”.