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Q&A
Council Member Bottcher asks about AI implementation in NYC agencies
0:48:04
ยท
4 min
Council Member Erik Bottcher inquires about the future of AI implementation in New York City agencies, focusing on the artificial intelligence action plan and potential applications. Matthew C. Fraser, the Chief Technology Officer, provides detailed responses on upcoming AI initiatives and their potential impact on city services.
- AI applications discussed include streamlining access to city data, improving 311 services, and enhancing internal city operations.
- Potential use of AI for benefits analysis, eligibility reviews, and pre-approvals for public services was highlighted.
- The conversation also touched on using AI to improve the city's contracting processes, particularly to address issues with timely payments to nonprofits.
Erik Bottcher
0:48:04
Hello, sir.
0:48:05
How are you?
Matthew C. Fraser
0:48:05
I'm good.
0:48:06
How are you?
Erik Bottcher
0:48:06
I'm good.
0:48:07
Thank you.
Edwin Pemberton
0:48:07
Alright.
Erik Bottcher
0:48:08
Thank you for the update you provided about the artificial intelligence action plan.
0:48:13
I'm really curious to to know what we can expect next with respect to AI and city agencies.
0:48:24
I know that the plan published guidelines and per local law 35 by council member Gutierrez, forty six agencies 46 tools were reported to having been used by city agencies.
0:48:45
What functions of city government can we expect to see utilizing AI in the near future?
Matthew C. Fraser
0:48:53
So I think that there's a couple of spaces that we are looking at very diligently, and you'll hear some updates in very soon.
0:49:04
So we're gonna continue into the communications space.
0:49:07
I think chat and communications with the public around streamlining access to city data is important.
0:49:16
When you look at three one one as an example, over 70% of the calls that come into three one one are information requests.
0:49:22
They don't request a service from an agency.
0:49:25
So democratizing access access to that information faster to give people answers in real time without waiting to speak to an agent, I think it's gonna be big big for us.
0:49:35
In addition to that, when you look at everything from internal city operations, whether it's drafting memos, drafting any sort of documents, having AI copilots as an as an agent to help assist creating those documents so that you have faster turnaround times processing information.
0:49:52
In addition to that, benefits benefits analysis and eligibility reviews.
0:49:57
Being able to use AI to do pre eligibility, predeterminations based on pre approvals for other programs is gonna be big.
0:50:07
I I guess the best way that we can put this is when at home or in your email, you may have a pre approval notice for a credit card, tells you you apply by a certain date, approve for a certain amount, certain threshold, and this is this is what you're pre approved for.
0:50:23
If we can do that for the financial industry, why can't we do that for public service and public benefits?
0:50:28
If you apply it for childcare, we know what your household looks like, we know your income looks like, we know what your dependents look like.
0:50:35
How what other services can we give you a preapproval for and how can we use AI to help us do that?
0:50:40
So those are some of areas that we're looking forward to leveraging AI.
Erik Bottcher
0:50:43
What about contracting, city contracting?
0:50:47
One of the challenges that our nonprofits are facing is they're not getting paid.
0:50:53
We have nonprofits who haven't received the funding that they were allocated several years ago, and they express great frustration with the process going round and round with city agencies about paperwork and, you know, you forgot to dot an I or cross a t.
0:51:17
How are you looking at the potential role of AI to assist with those processes?
Matthew C. Fraser
0:51:24
Yeah.
0:51:24
So I I think that's a big a big challenge.
0:51:28
Anyone that's doing business with the city and that's dependent on that reimbursement in order to continue operations and not getting that in a timely manner, it it hurts them significantly.
0:51:39
We've looked at digitizing a lot of the forms that they have to fill they have to fill out.
0:51:44
And if we can digitize those forms, if we can create a submission process that can validate the documents before they're provided, it could help in alleviates alleviating some of the back pressure.
0:51:55
I think that's one area where I put that in the general documents processing category where we can use AI to help us significantly in processing that that paperwork.
0:52:07
That's it's it's a very good use case.
0:52:09
Yep.