AI Is Now Essential National Infrastructure

New technological boundaries are being pushed by projects like DeepMind's Gato and Openai's DALL-E 2. National governments have been slow to use this technology. The opportunities to provide effective, targeted, and affordable services to citizens will prompt them to finally embrace artificial intelligence, which will make government more transparent, accessible and effective.

Artificial intelligence is being used to improve interactions with the state. Brokratt is an artificial intelligence-based virtual assistant launched by the government. Brokratt is a voice-based way to navigate key services provided by the state such as renewing a passport or applying for benefits.

The platform called Auroraai was announced in the country. It is part of a larger effort to provide Finns with a personalized service that helps them navigate various life stages, from birth to old age. The platform helps citizens interact with government departments, as well as offering a concierge-like medical service that can help them with new health risks.

Artificial intelligence and big data will be used to tackle some of society's biggest problems in the years to come. CENTURY Tech is a company that helps governments deliver personalized learning. The system acts as a personal tutor, compared to the in-person teaching a child gets by tracking progress and analyzing areas for improvement

With proper privacy protections in place, such projects can help research and innovation by generating a trove of data that is itself a competitive asset. The UK Biobank is an important government-led initiative. A public database with genetic information of more than half a million people has been created. It has been accessed by over 30,000 researchers from 86 countries.

Large-scale virtual worlds, such as the ones built by Improbable, will allow lawmakers and civil servants to game out planning and decision making.

Governments will need to invest if they are to fulfill the promise of artificial intelligence. Soon, a comprehensive digital infrastructure, which includes national computing power, a distributed cloud, and an interoperability set of applications and machine-readable legislation, will be as important to a country as roads, rail, and public water supply. More and more countries will build nationwide digital architectures in the years to come, which will allow them to deliver more responsive services that cater to the individual and help the population at large. They will be examples to follow for the rest of the world when bold governments make this move.