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Only digital dream teams can win the critical AI battles within the public sector

26 August 2024

Only digital dream teams can win the critical AI battles within the public sector  

There are high expectations for AI in the public sector. However, for these expectations to be met, we need to assemble more digital dream teams, including players from Danish universities.

AI in the public sector is not a new concept. The technology has slowly made its way into municipal offices and hospital corridors. However, the enthusiasm has been lacking. It is timely, therefore, that the government has now established a task force to identify the both the potential and the barriers to AI adoption in Denmark’s public sector.

At Denmark’s national research center for digital technology, DIREC, we have supported a number of research and innovation projects over the past four years, where researchers have collaborated with public organizations to explore how AI can solve challenges and create value for Danish society.

We are facing a multitude of opportunities with AI. However, to truly reap these benefits, we need stronger collaboration between public sector entities, innovative companies, and researchers from Danish universities.

Millions in potential savings

The research projects funded by DIREC demonstrate that significant benefits can be gained from applying digital technology and AI in the public sector.

In one project, researchers across Denmark are collaborating with several hospitals to analyze CT scans of kidney cancer patients using AI. This partnership has shown that treatment times can be shortened by 2-4 weeks, unnecessary biopsies can be avoided, and approximately 15-25 million kroner can be saved annually in the healthcare system.

In another project, researchers are working with Danish utility companies to explore how AI can help prevent flooding during heavy rainfall by efficiently distributing precipitation and wastewater across lakes and water systems.

What all these projects have in common is that AI technology is not something we can simply take off the shelf. Researchers, businesses, and the public sector organizations must work together to develop specific solutions to various challenges. Here are three examples of these challenges:

1. AI must be explainable
Large AI models consist of millions, sometimes billions, of parameters, and their outputs depend on complex combinations of these factors. Over the last decade, attempts have been made to use AI to predict outcomes such as child removals and long-term unemployment. However, these attempts have failed because caseworkers have been unable to understand the models’ logic.

The public sector does not need a chatbot that simply spits out answers. We need technology that can engage with both citizens and public employees. Therefore, it is essential to develop a layer of technology that can explain how models arrive at their conclusions. This means that decisions, such as whether to approve a building permit, should not only result in a yes or no answer but also provide the reasoning behind the decision. Explainable AI (XAI) is crucial for AI to become a valuable partner that supports both citizens and public employees.

2. AI must comply with the law
Large language models do not always provide correct answers. They often have a tendency to hallucinate. This is rarely an issue when generating something like a party song using ChatGPT. But if AI is used as a chatbot in communication between citizens and the public sector, we need to ensure that the model’s responses are correct and compliant with applicable laws.

There is a strong need to build a layer of technology around language models that can provide this assurance. Such a rule-based approach is not currently available in large language models. These models should be seen more as a user-friendly interfaces to a more advanced AI system, one that functions like an experienced caseworker, always arriving at the correct conclusion.

3. AI must protect privacy
For AI to be effective, it needs to be trained on large datasets. However, much of the data used by the public sector is sensitive, which presents a significant challenge in a society that values privacy.

Several researchers at Danish universities are working on solutions to this issue. One potential solution is “federated learning,” where the algorithm is trained locally but “visits” servers at places like hospitals and sends the results back ensuring that data never leaves secure environments. Another approach is “edge-based computing,” which compresses large AI models into smaller versions that can run on local computers, thus avoiding the need to process sensitive data in the cloud.

Create digital dream teams across sectors

These three challenges are just a few examples of what many researchers at Danish universities are dedicating their time to solving. Across these institutions lies deep expertise in what AI technology can achieve and what additional technologies are required to make AI successful in the public sector.

The most important task for the newly established AI task force will be to tap into the vast knowledge available at universities, companies, and public sector organizations. We need to bring together experts in digitization and AI from across Denmark to form digital dream teams.

Only by creating these digital dream teams can we ensure that AI becomes a success in the public sector.

This article was published on altinget.dk on August 26, 2024

 

 
 
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New management model attracts attention: “DAO is the cooperative movement on steroids”

21 August 2024

New management model attracts attention: "DAO is the cooperative movement on steroids"

Supported by DIREC, the experienced management consultant Henrik Axelsen is exploring how the corporate structure known as DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organizations) can be implemented in modern businesses. The potential is enormous, but the challenges are equally substantial.

Imagine working in a company where all your colleagues operate under pseudonyms and could be located anywhere in the world. You do not necessarily know who you are collaborating with, and everyone has the opportunity to vote on the company’s direction. Major decisions are encoded in “smart contracts,” stored on the company’s blockchain for complete transparency.

This corporate structure is called a DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization). A concept that combines blockchain technology and management practices in a way that fascinates researchers worldwide, including Henrik Axelsen, a PhD student at the University of Copenhagen and former partner at the auditing firms EY, PWC, and Marsh & McLennan.

What is a DAO?
  • DAO stands for Decentralized Autonomous Organization.
  • A DAO operates without a central leadership and is governed by its members.
  • Decisions are made through proposals that members vote on within a defined period and process.
  • All votes and activities within DAOs are recorded on a blockchain, making every user’s actions visible to all.
  • One of the first DAOs, called “The DAO,” was created by developers to automate decision-making and facilitate cryptocurrency transactions.

Sources: Investopedia and Coinbase

“DAO is the cooperative movement on steroids. It’s a completely new approach to governance and community,” says the former consultant, who also has a background in law.

He recently submitted his PhD project on the topic as part of the DIREC-supported initiative “AI & Blockchain for Complex Business Processes.”

A benefit to society?

For Henrik Axelsen, a DAO represents not just a technological breakthrough but a fundamental shift in how we understand organizations and financial infrastructure. An infrastructure he has helped maintain throughout his many years as a consultant for some of Denmark’s largest companies.

According to Axelsen, most companies will not be able to operate as a DAO due to the potential for chaos. However, the principles behind DAOs, decentralization, a flat hierarchy, and high security, have the potential to revolutionize various sectors, especially finance.

“Decentralizing the financial world can make the system much more accessible. The financial world is extremely costly and inefficient. Just the compliance costs for banks amount to €30 billion a year. What is the socio-economic benefit of that?” he asks rhetorically.

He believes the traditional financial sector is facing a significant transformation, but addressing these challenges requires action at the political level.

“I think politicians will be compelled to consider how technology can make the financial sector more efficient and automated. This could save society a lot of money while preventing the control failures we still witness today,” he says.

Henrik Axelsen also believes that the principles behind DAOs could prove beneficial in developing financial infrastructure in countries, where traditional banking is too expensive. Additionally, they could be useful in creating sustainable supply chains, where every product must be traceable down to the smallest detail.

“It’s incredible what this technology can achieve. It has the potential to create a better world, reaching places where the traditional system currently cannot,” he says.

Commercial prospects

Beyond his academic research, Henrik Axelsen is also involved in the practical application of blockchain technology as a co-founder of PixelPai, a company aiming to be the ‘gateway’ to the next generation of the financial internet.

“We believe that in ten years, there will be digital universes people will seamlessly move in and out of. We are working on a decentralized solution that integrates the financial world into these digital universes,” he says.

The knowledge he has acquired over the past three years as a PhD student will benefit both his company — and the industry as a whole. He emphasizes that further research into blockchain and DAOs is essential for the future development of this field.
“DIREC was very insightful in recognizing the need for more research in this area. It took me three years to fully grasp the subject, and hopefully, my research will pave the way for even more knowledge in the field.”

Henrik Axelsen’s PhD dissertation on DAOs will be available in October 2024.

Learn more about the project here.

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The future hybrid meetings: Now you can “whisper” to your virtual colleague

20 August 2024

The future hybrid meetings: Now you can "whisper" to your virtual colleague

Researchers have developed a new technology that enables participants in hybrid meetings to communicate more effectively. This innovation makes it easier for online attendees to build strong connections with colleagues in a world where hybrid meetings have rapidly become the norm.

Picture this: It’s Monday, and the workweek kicks off with a team meeting. Some colleagues are physically present, while others join from home — or perhaps even from a dentist’s waiting room. It’s a typical hybrid meeting.

From your virtual seat, you overhear soft exchanges among the participants in the physical room:

“Did you have a nice weekend?”

“What did she mean by that?”

“How did Friday’s meeting go?”

As an online participant, the challenge is that you cannot join in these side conversations. It can also be difficult to catch the subtle social interactions that occur during meetings – interactions that are essential for building better relationships with colleagues. But this does not have to be the case anymore.

With the program WhisperChannel, researchers have developed a tool that allows all participants in hybrid meetings to “whisper” to each other online. This technology holds the potential to significantly improve the quality of hybrid meetings.

A walkie-talkie for hybrid meetings

Ph.D. student Qianqian Mu from the Department of Computer Science at Aarhus University is the driving force behind WhisperChannel, which she developed in collaboration with experts from the Alexandra Institute. This web app allows all participants in a hybrid meeting to send audio messages to selected individuals, much like a walkie-talkie designed for the hybrid workforce.

“Most online meeting systems only support communication with the entire group. There is a missing backchannel that is more intimate, enabling participants to feel closer, even when they are physically distant,” says Qianqian Mu. She adds, “We created WhisperChannel to help meeting participants build stronger relationships and to even out the imbalance between them. We’re already seeing that both online and in-person attendees feel more connected”.

WhisperChannel was developed through testing, interviews, surveys, and observations in companies such as Arla, BEC, Bankdata, EventSpace, LTIMindtree, and Unlikly. Additional features will be added to WhisperChannel in the future, which will further strengthen colleague connections.

“We are currently experimenting with the ability to send vibrations to each other. This feature has been very popular because it simulates a physical touch. Looking ahead, I believe there is potential to integrate this technology into wearables like watches and glasses,” says Qianqian Mu, who has published a scientific paper on the need for WhisperChannel.

A collaboration between companies and researchers

WhisperChannel is part of the broader REWORK project, financially supported by the Digital Research Centre Denmark (DIREC). Researchers have collaborated with the aforementioned Danish companies, which have provided valuable insights.

Several corporate partners are currently testing the technology, and researchers are witnessing significant interest from the business sector, which is eager to optimise the new hybrid work environment.

“We can never make hybrid meetings identical to in-person ones. Instead, we must embrace the differences and work with the inherent asymmetry of hybrid meetings,” says REWORK project leader Eve Hoggan, Associate Professor at the Department of Computer Science at Aarhus University.

Since 2022, Eve Hoggan has brought together researchers, companies, cultural institutions, and artists to rethink hybrid work, which gained significant popularity after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Companies are keen to improve the meeting experience or contribute specific technologies. The researchers from various research domains offer diverse perspectives on the overarching challenges. The cultural sector can help communicate these initiatives to a broader audience. With WhisperChannel, many hours of cross-disciplinary collaboration have resulted in a tangible tool with global potential.

“DIREC has enabled us to assemble a group that can address the challenges of hybrid work from multiple angles. This has allowed us to share insights across different fields and develop concrete tools that can shape the future of hybrid work,” concludes Eve Hoggan.

The REWORK project is set to conclude in 2025.

Learn more about REWORK here