AI for Canada Public Sector: An Infosys Perspective

Executive Summary

Artificial Intelligence’s (AI) rapid evolution has become a game-changer for public sector agencies. Its ability to automate routine tasks, streamline operational frameworks, and analyze vast datasets for generating actionable insights is proving to be a crucial driver for business growth, faster decision-making, and setting new benchmarks for efficiency and innovation in service delivery and public value creation.

However, the implementation of AI in the public sector, despite its widespread benefits, poses significant challenges. The complexity of the evolving AI field, encompassing advanced cognitive data processing, large language models, and Generative AI, presents a steep learning curve. Moreover, the sensitive nature and unique context of its applicability within the public sector introduce several challenges and limitations, particularly regarding societal outcomes if not executed correctly.

This article examines how Infosys Public Services (Infosys), through its AI-first approach and unwavering commitment to responsible AI practices, can expedite business value and empower public sector organizations in the U.S. and Canada to fully realize their potential by addressing both the known and unknown risks associated with AI adoption.

The Power of AI in Public Sector

Numerous market research studies have shed light on the multifaceted applications of AI technology within public sector operations. These applications encompass the delivery of personalized services, the enhancement of citizen experience and engagement, the ability to meet operational demands at scale, the augmentation of productivity, and the facilitation of predictive capabilities to ensure policy outcomes that align with societal needs.

Outlined below are several instances in which government agencies can examine the role of AI in their digital projects and services. By leveraging both human and AI interactions, these agencies can improve constituent experiences, optimize business outcomes, and effectively manage talent for more strategic initiatives.

Infosys has been collaborating strategically with agencies, helping them leverage AI solutions and capabilities into their core business functions, driving significant advancements (business impact to value levers) to meet the unique needs of responsiveness and personalization.

Streamlining DMV Processes and Enhancing Citizen Experience

• AI-powered chatbots: Virtual assistants can handle routine inquiries, such as DMV license renewals and registration questions, 24/7. They provide multi-lingual responses, making public service user interactions intuitive, seamless, and less time-consuming, while offering improved and increased citizen support.
• Automated document processing: AI can perform semantic search to extract information from forms and documents, such as driver's licenses and vehicle registrations, and verify them with high accuracy. This significantly reduces manual and high-volume case loads, data queries, and expedites response times.
• Predictive analytics: AI can predict peak hours for renewals and registrations at your DMVs, enabling dynamic resource allocation and minimizing wait times for citizens.

Infosys has proven expertise in chatbot development, semantic search, and document automation solutions that can significantly improve the DMV experience. We have a successful track record of implementing similar solutions for government agencies, resulting in increased citizen satisfaction and operational efficiency gains.

Revolutionizing Healthcare through AI

• Therapeutics: AI has the capability to analyze medical images and patient data, facilitating faster and more precise diagnoses as well as personalized treatment plans.
• Patient satisfaction: Enabling patient facing tools with expedited appointment scheduling, enrollment, provider network management, dispute resolution, prior authorization and claims that can help improve patient trust and reduce churn.
• Patient support in health and wellness management: AI chatbots can provide basic medical information, answer appointment reminders, and offer self-care guidance, alleviating the burden on healthcare providers and empowering patients to manage their health more effectively.
• Combatting fraud: AI can effectively pinpoint fraudulent claims and billing practices, resulting in cost savings and enhanced healthcare services for all individuals.
• Address day in a life burn outs: Gen AI to lighten daily work burden, including document summarization, Q&A, bot assisted care coordination.

Infosys has extensive experience in implementing AI solutions in the healthcare sector. Leveraging our expertise, we can develop systems that optimize patient care, minimize medical errors, and streamline administrative processes, ultimately leading to improved healthcare outcomes.

Revolutionizing Procurement with AI

• Intelligent sourcing: Artificial Intelligence (AI) has the capability to analyze extensive datasets from diverse sources, such as past contracts and supplier performance, in order to identify optimal suppliers, enhance contract terms for improved value, and negotiate more advantageous deals.
• Predictive analytics: AI can forecast potential supply chain disruptions, including material shortages and delivery delays, by leveraging historical data and market trends. This facilitates proactive measures to uphold essential services and mitigate risks to public service delivery.
• Automated risk assessment: AI can conduct automated assessments of risks linked to vendors, encompassing their financial stability and past performance, ensuring responsible procurement practices and the protection of public funds.

Infosys harnesses its proficiency in AI and procurement to develop tailored solutions that streamline processes, reduce costs, and fully align with the objectives of procurement services.

Framework to Prioritize Public Sector AI Use Cases

Determining and prioritizing the AI use cases to pursue first is critical. Infosys’ AI Value-led Adoption Framework can help agencies adopt and leverage AI strategically. It helps evaluate and prioritize impactful use cases that align with agency goals, value measures, strategic imperatives, cost-benefit analysis, and consider the data ecosystem and technical feasibility to achieve successful AI adoption. Our proven framework has helped organizations become ready for AI, led by transformative business strategy, leveraging the new currencies of AI, and adopting trusted and governed AI platforms for running smart business operations.

To effectively enable AI, agencies can further follow through AI different stages (incubation to operationalization) to drive innovation, enhance productivity, and improve outcomes.

Stage 1: Strategic Assessment

• Collaborate to identify agency challenges and strategic goals, compliance requirements
• Brainstorm potential AI opportunities across departments, crowdsource ideas, and define the art of the possible
• Categorize and prioritize high-impact, feasible and differentiating use cases (game changer vs business extender), cost impact, etc. using an Impact-Feasibility Matrix
• Evaluate technology and data ecosystem readiness, talent gaps
• Chart a course for AI controls - Responsible, Ethics, Societal values, Regulations, Culture

Stage 2: Proof-of-Concept (POC)

• Scope and select a high-impact, moderate complexity use case for the POC
• Develop a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) showcasing core AI functionalities
• Pilot deploy and evaluate the MVP in a controlled environment with adoption feasibility, risk, and reusability potential
• Design and audit models with strong security and privacy controls
• Measure efficacy against desired business goals
• • Socialize the solution across affected business and technology

Stage 3: Implementation and Scaling

• Refine and enhance the AI solution based on POC learnings and user feedback
• Develop a phased deployment strategy with user training and data integration plans
• Integrate with bespoke systems
• Test solution with the workforce for adaptability
• Implement change management to facilitate user adoption

Stage 4: Continuous Improvement and Monitoring

• Monitor AI performance using key metrics (e.g., user satisfaction, cost savings)
• Implement continuous learning of the AI models
• Refine and optimize data feeds
• Operate AI solution center and train stakeholders
• Gather continuous feedback to ensure solution relevance and effectiveness
• Identify new opportunities for AI adoption across different departments

Infosys AI Office for Ethics and Responsible AI

At Infosys, the ethical development and deployment of AI is a top priority. We adhere to a "responsible by design" approach as a fundamental aspect of our applied AI strategy. Our comprehensive framework centrally models risk management to address bias and hallucination. Furthermore, our ethical governance is continually adapted to adhere to legal, security, and privacy guidelines at every stage of the AI journey, including data sources and output interfaces. As a result, AI solutions developed by Infosys are impartial, transparent, and answerable. These were the key factors behind Infosys being among the first few organizations to be certified with ISO 42001:2023, world’s first international standard on AI Management System.

Conclusion

Breakthrough innovation within the public sector will be realized through the strategic integration of AI across the technology infrastructure, thereby fortifying existing systems and expediting the realization of outcomes for an agile enterprise. Leveraging Infosys AI Labs and the Topaz framework, governmental agencies can effectuate substantial progress across various domains, encompassing the formulation of application code, personalization of citizen experiences within contact centers, process reengineering, and the modernization of entrenched systems. Embracing an AI-centric approach, Infosys is poised to harness the potency of generative AI, analytics, and cloud computing to expedite the pragmatic redefinition of requisite competencies, essential for governmental entities to envision, adopt, and scale AI-driven transformation. Forge an alliance with Infosys today to cultivate a more streamlined, transparent, and citizen-centric public sector, poised for the future.

Next Steps

Contact Infosys today to discuss how we can tailor our AI solutions to meet the specific needs of your agency. Let's work together to leverage AI for a brighter public service future.

Author Details

Dr. Suman De, Principal Consultant and Head, Government Healthcare Analytics Solutions, Infosys Public Services

Dr. Suman is head of government healthcare analytics for Infosys Public Services. He has extensive experience in the public healthcare sector and previously worked for the World Health Organization, UNICEF and the Indian Public Health Association.

At Infosys, Dr. Suman leads the area of advanced data science and artificial intelligence-enabled population health, social determinants of health analytics, opioid management, care management, and value-based care. He is a frequent public speaker at various healthcare conferences, forums and at major universities, including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Ajay Thukral, Head of Technology, Infosys Public Services, Inc.

Ajay Thukral is the Senior Industry Principal and Head of Enterprise Architecture at Infosys Public Services, a subsidiary of Infosys that specializes in the US and Canadian public sectors. In this role, he defines and implements technology architecture across multiple programs for public sector clients, ensuring compliance with state and federal standards.

With over 23 years of experience in consulting and driving digital transformation, Ajay plays a pivotal role in shaping the technology vision and strategy for public sector organizations. He excels at identifying and scaling emerging technologies, offering invaluable advice to clients, and guiding successful transformation journeys.

Ajay has completed an executive CTO program at Wharton Business School, complementing his bachelor’s degree in engineering from Thapar University, India. He holds industry-leading certifications in architecture, cloud, and security, such as TOGAF, CISSP, CCSP, CISM, AWS, Azure, and PMP.