After months of working alongside governments to help them responsibly integrate generative AI, our team members have some thoughts about chatbots.
Partner:
By: Carrie Bishop, Krista Canellakis, and Amanda Rucker
As generative AI (gen AI) advances in governments, so does misunderstanding of how to use its powers. At U.S. Digital Response (USDR), we’ve been fielding requests from governments big and small for ‘chatbots’ in hopes of solving a range of issues. Similar to requests for ‘apps’ and ‘dashboards’, requests for chatbots are usually nebulous and start with a solution rather than a good understanding of user needs.
From community members to first responders, there are countless use cases that many hope ‘chatbots’ will assist — but we argue they’re usually the wrong solution to the problem.
We know these requests are rooted in a desire to offer something to users in hopes of responding quickly and accurately to their problems. As the chatbot requests poured in, USDR interrogated what our partners’ hopes were when they asked for a chatbot. From unpacking the problem, a few user needs emerge:
The user needs aren’t the only thing we need to keep front and center when solving these problems, the context of their needs is also important. Is this for a resident, who needs to know what a benefit’s eligibility criteria are? Or is it for a policymaker who wants to query every meeting agenda to find relevant decisions? Is it for an emergency responder who needs to know some real-time information in a critical situation? Or is it for a permit expediter who wants to know whether a new build will get approved?
Here are three major realities with the idea of a chatbot as a solution to these problems:
Chatbots aren’t the silver bullet, but there are plenty of great uses for gen AI. USDR can help you navigate it all by providing a safe space for experimentation from a product-agnostic viewpoint. We can help you decide whether you should use gen AI, prototype solutions (thanks to support from Google.org), and empower you with the technology to address pressing challenges in your communities.
If you’re grappling with gen AI, get in touch and let’s work together to make sure we’re using it to solve the right problems in the right way.
About U.S. Digital Response
U.S. Digital Response is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that works alongside governments at all levels to ensure they have the capacity to support the critical needs of the public. Founded in 2020, USDR connects governments with technology, resources, and support, leaving them better equipped to deliver services and support to millions of people nationwide. To date, USDR has built a dedicated community of over 9,000 volunteers driven to serve in a time of need and has partnered with 400 government and nonprofit partners on more than 400 projects. See more at usdigitalresponse.org.