News
News Categories

Public services in Singapore will use intelligent chatbots from Microsoft

By Liu Hongzuo - on 12 Jul 2016, 3:18pm

Public services in Singapore will use intelligent chatbots from Microsoft

Dr. Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister-In-Charge of the Smart Nation Initiative.

Our government will start experimenting new ways to implement next-generation artificial intelligence into everyday public services, with the help of Microsoft.

 

What is this “next-gen public service”?

Dr. Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister-In-Charge of the Smart Nation Initiative, announced the new concept at the World Cities Summit 2016. The new plan capitalizes on intelligent software programs – specifically, Microsoft’s “Conversations as a Platform” ecosystem – to implement chatbots (talking robots and/or software) for selected public services.

“I believe there are more intuitive ways for government services to be delivered to our citizens. Everybody expects responsive and personalized interactions in real time. This joint research project with Microsoft to demonstrate the utility of conversational computing for public services will be all the more pertinent.” – Dr Vivian Balakrishnan

The new trial hopes to improve the human experience when it comes to receiving trustworthy, reliable public service. The chatbots will be designed to simulate human behavior to make public service interactions simpler, more efficient, and more consistent.

 

Where does Microsoft come in?

“Conversations as a Platform” is a Microsoft initiative that combines artificial intelligence, machine learning, and the ability of natural language to enable productive conversations. It grants computing systems the ability to have an evolving conversation with human users. The end goal of “Conversations as a Platform” is to let users get exactly what they need without the use of numerous icons and applications – it also aims to use normal banter and queries (via text or spoken word) to accomplish tasks.

“As everything around us becomes more digitized, Conversations as a Platform is a new shift that applies the understanding of human language to computers and computing, which can transform every industry,” said Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft. “We’re excited to partner with organizations like the Government of Singapore to help transform its engagements with citizens and businesses to seize the opportunities ahead.”

 

How will it work?

A Microsoft Centre of Excellence for Leadership in Digital Transformation for Government and Industry will be erected to achieve this goal. This Microsoft center will help showcase these solutions and develop the necessary ‘next-gen’ services, while it nurtures local innovators to come forward with their capabilities in forwarding this agenda. The center will work together with the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA).

This proof of concept will be rolled out in three phases. The phases are as follows:

Phase One: Chatbots will draw information from a vast database to answer simple factual questions from users of selected public services.

Phase Two: Chatbots expand their capability to help users complete simple tasks and transactions within government websites.

Phase Three: Chatbots will be able to respond to personalized queries from users, which enhances user engagement by providing an interactive conversational experience.

Join HWZ's Telegram channel here and catch all the latest tech news!
Our articles may contain affiliate links. If you buy through these links, we may earn a small commission.