With complicated data sets, turning to artificial intelligence (AI) can yield results unobtainable with traditional human analysis. We use AI for our redaction and indexing software, so it can better understand not only the data within a document, but the indicators and clues throughout that point to data that needs to be extracted or redacted. AI has been a fantastic way of building on our rulesets using millions of examples to achieve the best capture rate possible.
Finding patterns and being able to ascribe meaning to them can be challenging with a great set of data, but it becomes even more difficult when you’re looking for that meaning in congressional outcomes. According to NextGov, the Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress, a group tasked with improving the operations of Congress, is going to give it a shot. The committee has prioritized not just what they think it can get done, but also more large-scale unconventional approaches.
One of these approaches is to leverage AI. The idea is to use the technology to determine the effectiveness of previous legislation and also to simulate the impact of future legislation. Deloitte’s Center for Government Insights head of government and emerging technology, Joe Mariani, believes, “Ultimately, these simulations can help members agree on what they disagree on. In fact, there’s even evidence that just experimenting with these models alone can help drive consensus on emotionally charged issues.”
All of this sounds well and good if the algorithms used are unbiased and if congresspeople are willing to accept the produced results. The committee’s Vice Chairman, South Carolina Republican William Timmons, stressed that officials should prepare for AI to help drive legislation and that Congress will work to be at the forefront of new technologies.
The Modernization Committee is not one to put its eggs in one basket and has now made nearly 200 recommendations since its inception in 2019. The team has recommendations covering things like term lengths, remote work, accessibility, and even civility. There is also another initiative that will harness the power of AI to create a better scheduling system to alleviate the current problem of overbooking the same time slot.
Certainly, an unbiased look at the effects of legislation could make a big impact in the increasingly polarized halls of Congress, but it remains to be seen how willing elected officials will be to trust and incorporate this information into their decision-making.
In the meantime, we’ll stick with using AI where we see it making a substantive difference in the workflows of state and local government offices across the country. If you’re interested in machine learning, you can check out our page on it here or reach out and we’d be happy to schedule a call or demonstration.
About the Author: Chris Mack
Chris is a Marketing Manager at Extract with experience in product development, data analysis, and both traditional and digital marketing. Chris received his bachelor’s degree in English from Bucknell University and has an MBA from the University of Notre Dame. A passionate marketer, Chris strives to make complex ideas more accessible to those around him in a compelling way.