Artificial intelligence systems could assist local authorities in addressing staffing shortages and achieving financial efficiencies.
Torfaen Borough Council has approved allocating £516,000 from its reserve funds toward a £2.6 million initiative aimed at establishing a unified approach to artificial intelligence implementation across four Gwent authorities.
The scheme is being coordinated through the SRS, known as the Shared Reserve Service, which serves as the technology collaborative for Newport, Monmouthshire, Torfaen and Blaenau Gwent councils.
When Monmouthshire council endorsed participation in June in a three-year artificial intelligence pilot managed by the SRS, cabinet members were informed that among the measures to be introduced would be a system for gathering information on individual children and employing predictive analytics to inform decision-making processes.
A decision document authored by Torfaen council’s deputy chief executive, Dave Leech, has not elaborated specifically on the precise applications the council would pursue with the technology.
However, the documentation indicated that the systems could be deployed for tasks such as document processing, language conversion and text condensation using authorized artificial intelligence tools within a controlled and secure framework, while automated agents could substantially enhance residents’ capacity to reach the council at times suiting their schedules.
Mr Leech’s assessment outlined that the artificial intelligence scheme intends to produce better results for local residents; alleviate strains stemming from unfilled positions; provide personnel with chances to acquire new competencies; and help mitigate concerns regarding unmanageable workloads.
The SRS will implement Amazon Web Services and its Pro Services Partner for the initiative.
The expenditure on the artificial intelligence programme has received endorsement from the council leader, Labour’s Anthony Hunt.