GenAI to Drive Inclusivity and Accessibility in NSW DCS Service

The NSW Department of Customer Service is exploring the potential of generative AI to enhance multilingual capabilities for more accessible and inclusive public access to government services and information. At the Salesforce Agentforce event in Sydney, Daniel Roelink, the department’s Director of Digital Strategy, Investment, and Architecture, discussed the exciting opportunities generative AI offers in this area. He emphasized its potential to transform accessibility and inclusion but acknowledged the need for significant improvements to address the full range of languages and dialects spoken by NSW’s diverse population.

Generative AI, powered by large language models (LLMs), has demonstrated promising natural language capabilities. However, Roelink noted that these models require adjustments to accommodate different dialects and linguistic nuances. He highlighted innovative approaches being explored, such as collaborating with local communities to retrain models for greater accuracy in specific dialects. With improvements in fluency and adaptability, generative AI holds tremendous potential for delivering more inclusive and accessible public services, enabling citizens to interact with government systems in their preferred languages.

Roelink pointed out that generative AI represents a significant leap forward in how people interact with technology, offering capabilities far beyond earlier iterations of AI. However, he cautioned that the initial excitement surrounding the technology often leads to its misuse or misapplication. The department’s early experiments with generative AI involved understanding the technology’s scope and potential applications in government contexts. Roelink stressed the importance of educating government staff about the unique capabilities and limitations of generative AI to ensure its appropriate and effective use.

The focus is now shifting toward scaling up generative AI use cases responsibly and ethically. Roelink emphasized the department’s adoption of a principles-based approach to ensure the ethical and responsible use of the technology. Key considerations include transparency, trust, fairness, and accountability, which guide decision-making on whether a particular use case is suitable for generative AI. This framework helps to address questions about the ethical implications of using AI systems trained on extensive datasets.

As debates around legislating the responsible use of AI continue globally, Roelink underscored that the ultimate responsibility lies with the individual departments or agencies choosing to implement the technology. By fostering a culture of ethical innovation and accountability, the NSW government aims to leverage generative AI’s transformative potential while safeguarding public trust and ensuring equitable outcomes.

The multilingual capabilities of generative AI offer exciting prospects for improving accessibility and inclusivity in government services, allowing public institutions to better serve diverse populations by providing information and support in multiple languages. These advancements could make it easier for citizens who speak different languages to engage with public services, ensuring that no one is left behind due to language barriers. However, while the potential is vast, there are still significant challenges to overcome in fully harnessing this technology. One of the primary hurdles is the need for AI models to accurately understand and process a wide range of languages, dialects, and regional nuances, especially in a diverse environment like New South Wales.

The NSW Department of Customer Service is actively addressing these challenges by exploring generative AI’s potential while also acknowledging that the technology is still in its early stages. As noted by Daniel Roelink, the department’s director of digital strategy, the current models do not yet fully cater to the linguistic diversity of the state, requiring further adjustments to accommodate the various dialects and language nuances of its citizens. Roelink highlighted the importance of community involvement, particularly crowdsourcing assistance from local communities to help retrain AI models to better understand and represent regional dialects and vernaculars. This collaboration is key to ensuring that generative AI models can accurately serve the needs of all citizens, irrespective of their linguistic background.

At the same time, the department is committed to responsible and ethical use of AI. The use of generative AI, while promising, also brings with it complex questions about transparency, fairness, trust, and accountability. Roelink emphasized that as the government continues to explore the use of AI, there must be a clear understanding of the technology’s capabilities and limitations. It is crucial for staff to be educated about when generative AI can be applied effectively and when it is not suitable for a given use case.

The department is also focused on scaling up AI use cases responsibly, ensuring that AI technologies are used to solve the right problems without causing harm. To this end, they have adopted a principles-based approach that governs the ethical use of AI. This includes ensuring transparency in how AI models are trained, how data is used, and how decisions are made, with the ultimate goal of promoting fairness and accountability in the implementation of these systems.

While the broader government sector continues to debate the potential need for regulations to govern AI use, the responsibility ultimately lies with individual departments and agencies. By prioritizing education, involving communities in the development process, and upholding strong ethical standards, the NSW Department of Customer Service is striving to make generative AI a tool for greater accessibility, inclusivity, and efficiency, while also mitigating the risks associated with this powerful technology.

In summary, while the multilingual capabilities of generative AI present a promising future for government services, there are still several challenges to address, particularly regarding linguistic diversity and ethical considerations. Through careful planning, community collaboration, and a focus on ethical principles, the NSW Department of Customer Service aims to use this technology responsibly to create more accessible and inclusive services that benefit all citizens.