ATARC Public Sector Summit: Rise of AI and Automation, Power of Partnerships, and the IRS Taxpayer 360 Initiative
In late December, ATARC held its Public Sector Summit 2024, which showcased a wide range of pressing issues and opportunities related to technology in the public sector.
The event addressed crucial topics including Generative AI, automation, collaboration, cybersecurity, and organizational modernization, highlighting both the opportunities and challenges these present for government agencies.
Members of the Makpar team attended the ATARC Public Sector Summit 2024 and came back with the following takeaways:
The Rise of Generative AI and Automation
Generative AI is proving to be a powerful tool for automation, significantly saving time for agencies and their staff.
Automation is not a one-size-fits-all solution. It’s crucial to identify areas where automation adds value and avoids inefficiencies.
Compliance and information-related processes are particularly well-suited for automation.
It is also important to consider the potential for misuse of AI and the impact of AI on the workforce. There are concerns about the cost-effectiveness of AI and the potential for overuse.
AI Uses Cases in Government
The City of Boston uses generative AI to create digital representations of parking restrictions to improve policy planning and provide better customer experiences.
NOAA has been working its AI use cases for a wide range of scientific inquiries.
NSF is applying AI models to sift through decades of collected data to understand the impact of billions in research funding to make improved investment decisions.
The SSA AI use cases aim to automate paper-intensive processes such as disability claims processing and routing.
The Power of Collaboration and Partnerships
Collaboration is essential across all aspects of our lives, especially in addressing the vast and multifaceted needs of citizens.
Strong partnerships and collaborations are transformative and bring immense value to agencies.
Public-private partnerships are becoming more important, with a focus on strengthening voluntary collaborations between government and industry.
A collaborative environment requires mutual support, with organizations helping each other avoid potential pitfalls.
Empowering partners is key to driving success.
Cybersecurity Imperatives
As agencies move to cloud environments, defending these environments is a top priority.
The Zero Trust model is crucial for security and can even be extended to daily life.
Cybersecurity frameworks are critical in ensuring robust protection.
Incident response plans are essential, with resilience assuming that incidents will occur.
Key steps in cyber recovery include assessing the scope of an attack, identifying the point of infection, evaluating the impact on sensitive data, and restoring data from backups.
Features like secure vaults, encryption detection, and threat hunting are vital for cyber recovery.
Modernization and the IRS
The IRS is working to address pain points experienced by customers and taxpayers.
The Taxpayer 360 initiative aims to give customer service representatives immediate access to all taxpayer information on a single page.
Modernizing backend systems is crucial for achieving this goal.
However, budget and funding remain significant challenges, along with adapting the organizational culture and legacy systems.
Leadership needs to create pathways for employees to learn new skills to keep pace with changes.
Ethical Considerations and the Future of AI
Ethical concerns around the cost-effectiveness of AI, its potential risks, and overuse must be addressed.
The potential impact of AI on jobs needs to be considered.
The education system must evolve to equip individuals with the knowledge needed to interact effectively with AI technologies.
Leaders should focus on problem-solving by asking their teams for ideas and solutions and fostering open communication.
Overall while technology offers significant opportunities, its successful integration depends on thoughtful planning, collaboration, and continuous learning. The discussions at the event reinforced the importance of public-private partnerships, robust cybersecurity practices, and ethical considerations in the ongoing adoption of AI and automation.
If you would like to learn more about how Makpar can help your agency develop the most comprehensive innovation for enhancing mission success, please contact us here.