Artificial intelligence

The challenge of regulating the use of technologies

Just as happened in the 2000s when the use of the web became widespread for any area, which forced the development of security issues (digital identification, secure payment, document validation, privacy, etc.), Artificial Intelligence is going to involve the adaptation of some aspects to maintain the appropriate level of security.

The recently approved European regulation aims to ensure that artificial intelligence (AI) systems are safe and respect fundamental rights and EU values. This historic proposal is also intended to stimulate the investment and the innovation in the field of AI in Europe, although an excessive limitation in the use of data may represent a barrier to its rapid development. The main idea of ​​the regulations is to regulate use in relation to the capacity to harm society, following a risk-based approach: a higher risk, stricter standards. A distinction is made between “unacceptable risk” systems (those that put fundamental rights at risk) or “high risk” systems, which must be expressly authorized before their deployment and must meet certain requirements.

AI in public management

The public sector has also seen the great potential of this technology. AI is an opportunity for the evolution and improvement of services to citizens, to create predictive models that help prevent and reduce tax fraud, and should also contribute to guaranteeing compliance with tax obligations and the exercise of the rights to the taxpayers.

Experts in public management have once again highlighted the need to overcome patrimonialism around data management and promote its sharing, in a collaborative manner, between all entities of the various administrations. It involves document processing, pattern detection (inappropriate behavior) and citizen service (virtual assistants), emphasizing the importance of ethics and transparency in data management.

The use of these technological tools must be characterized by strict compliance with the legal principles that govern the application of taxes and must be respectful of the rights and guarantees of the taxpayer. Ethics is important when controlling the impacts that the application of AI can cause, especially considering that the law does not develop as quickly as technological innovation.

What conditions must the Administration meet to apply AI in its management?

A certain maturity is required in organizations and not only from the point of view of technology, but especially with regard to the human factor. The existence of aging staff, an obsolete administrative culture and the lack of motivation towards change are aspects that must be managed.

The implementation of optimal AI systems requires professionals in analytics, data science or visualization, natural language processing or even deep learning.

It is necessary to invest but invest “with human intelligence”, that is, with a clear idea on the part of public managers of what the improvement objectives are and with measurable indicators of progress. Technology itself can be a source of waste if not implemented correctly.

Finally, we must point out the complexity factor given the varied administrative regulations and the use of administrative language, sometimes too convoluted for the average citizen. The simplification of procedures and terminology are prior to the great cultural change that is intended.

Areas of application of AI in local tax management: the case of Suma

The tax organization Suma has begun to apply a first level of this technique in some administrative processes, so that it already has 20 procedures on its website that are resolved without human intervention and with all the guarantees of legal security. The next step is the preparation of pre-drafted documents that make the specific procedure easier for the taxpayer.

In terms of administrative sanctions, it already uses vehicle license plate recognition to manage complaint bulletins, whose automatic geolocation allows the creation of prediction maps of areas with high infraction rates so that town councils can improve road safety. Along these lines, Suma also carries out an advanced analysis, with Deep Learning techniques, of aerial photographs of territories in order to detect undeclared constructions that impact the Real Estate Tax.

The tax organization Suma has begun to successfully apply Artificial Intelligence in some administrative processes

On the other hand, Suma develops lines of research focused on improving citizen service. The first is the analysis of the current human chat in order to provide intelligence to an advanced virtual assistant – financed with Next Generation Funds – that will allow us to extend our service hours and dedicate the available human resources to the most complex procedures. The second line of study is the possibility of interpreting the documents that the citizen provides for their procedures (instances, certificates, deeds, etc.) so that the request reaches the unit that must resolve it more quickly and even at a more advanced stage. , management can be achieved immediately.

AI technology has just begun its journey, its field of application is very broad. Channeling its use with (human) intelligence constitutes a challenge and an opportunity to put public services at the next level.