In this BSA series – “Why AI?” – enterprise software leaders explain in their own words how artificial intelligence (AI) is having a positive impact on individuals, businesses, and organizations worldwide. In this submission, BSA’s Board of Directors Member and Elastic Chief Legal Officer and Company Secretary Carolyn Herzog writes about how generative AI is creating intelligent tools that can index information to improve efficiency.
1. Why AI?
Generative AI holds the potential to transform citizen experience and employee productivity with speed and reliability. Despite the proliferation of online government services and resources, the task of locating current and pertinent information remains daunting. IDC reports that government workers expend an average of 2.5 hours per day merely trawling for information, detracting from their core mission. For government employees, essential information is often tucked away behind intranet links or lost within the vast, ever-growing ocean of online tools. By adeptly merging government data with the emergent capabilities of generative AI, we are creating intelligent tools. These advanced tools would not only comprehend users’ queries but also deliver relevant answers, in real-time, at-scale – enhancing efficiency and effectiveness for both employees and the public they serve.
2. Can you give an example?
Elasticsearch serves as an essential conduit linking private government data with generative AI. Government data needs to be updated when policies change, or secured behind role based access control for security and privacy. The AI-powered relevance engine in Elasticsearch adds private context to generative AI government applications, making the responses more accurate, attributable, and actionable. For instance, critical information regarding accessing social services, often concealed within frequently revised articles, can be indexed and understood by Elasticsearch in real time. This data is then formatted into tailored instructions by the generative AI, mitigating concerns of AI-generated misinformation or outdated results. By enhancing the accessibility of pertinent information to those who need it the most, we can significantly improve the citizen search experience, leading to a faster, more efficient, user-centered interface.
3. Where can we learn more?
Elastic is helping government organizations around the world imagine how generative AI can improve citizen services, healthcare, and education responsibly — and collaborating on a roadmap to make it come to life. To learn more, read about the following topics:
- Generative AI for public sector
- Improving citizen experience with generative AI
- Generative AI for healthcare
About the author:
Carolyn Herzog is the Chief Legal Officer and Company Secretary at Elastic. She is responsible globally for all legal, regulatory, and public affairs matters and provides strategic counsel to the CEO, Board and leadership team on a broad range of corporate, commercial, governance and regulatory issues. She currently serves as a member of BSA’s Board of Directors.
