AI: How will Bürokratt make life easier for entrepreneurs in Estonia? Interview with Ott Velsberg
The recent explosion in the use of Artificial Intelligence by the general public is only one consequence of the long-term efforts of various initiatives, both private and public, to obtain a tool capable of simplifying the lives of entrepreneurs, employees, customers and citizens in general.
Estonia, a pioneer in digitalization, couldn’t afford to miss out on the emergence of AI, and for several years now has been developing tools that could improve exchanges between the state and its citizens.
Ott Velsberg, Government Chief Data Officer at the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications of the Republic of Estonia, has been entrusted with this task.
Mr. Vesberg’s role, an expert in data science, is to oversee the strategic coordination and planning of the data ecosystem within the government, as well as various projects in areas such as AI, data governance and in particular citizen-centric data governance, privacy-enhancing technologies and open data.
He also leads the implementation of the government’s AI strategy and is particularly involved in the development of Bürokratt, the Estonian state’s virtual assistant.
As the Kratt became dangerous to its owner when not given a task, the creature has today become a metaphor for Artificial Intelligence, a servant to be wary of.
The play on words with “bureaucrat” was therefore quite natural.
At first glance, Bürokratt appears to be a chatbot (conversational robot) comparable to the other virtual assistants you’ll come across on many websites, guiding you through your navigation and answering your questions.
Bürokratt’s ambition is to relieve citizens of cumbersome administrative procedures such as applying for permits or renewing identity papers, by offering an easy-to-use, intuitive platform accessible to all.
Bürokratt’s field of competence, as developed by Mr. Velsberg’s team, is limited to those public services that are willing to adopt it.
In other words, Bürokratt will not answer your questions based on what it finds on the Internet, as ChatGPT currently does, but will rather use the resources provided by the services employing it, and will also have the power to fill in administrative documents based on the information it obtains during its discussion with the citizen, to an extent defined by the services in question.
Bürokratt does not create content to order, but uses the information you provide to speed up the processing of the most redundant tasks (filling in forms and transmitting files, for example).
What are Bürokratt’s current areas of application and use, and how might these evolve in the future?
At present, Bürokratt’s primary function is to relieve users of administrative burdens and answer frequently asked questions.
Nevertheless, there is a growing demand to extend Bürokratt’s services.
The potential for optimizing communication with government and access to information makes Bürokratt an indispensable tool for the future of public services.
We are currently working on the implementation of voice interaction, the addition of several languages, an automatic translator and even a sign language recognition tool.
RIK is responsible for the development and maintenance of the e-Financials portal, one of Estonia’s key business services.
Once Bürokratt has been adopted by RIK, it will be of great assistance to companies, facilitating administrative procedures for setting up a business, for example, or helping to provide the documents required for annual financial audits.
In addition to its use by RIK, Bürokratt is also able to notify companies of subsidies to which they may be entitled, inform them of new market opportunities, assist them with tax procedures and much more.
All in all, the process will be optimized and simplified.
This augurs well for the future of public services, which will become more accessible and practical for entrepreneurs.
Have you anticipated or seen any other needs among entrepreneurs in Estonia that the government could address via AI?
Artificial intelligence could provide companies with recommendations on wage differentials, business opportunities, new markets and so on.
For example, Bürokratt could make it easier to set up a business by offering resources and advice, but the service could also help with all kinds of tax-related administrative tasks, making tax legislation easier to understand.
Overall, the use of Bürokratt in the business world could significantly improve the efficiency and productivity of companies.
As technology advances, we can expect to see increasingly sophisticated tools providing an even wider range of services to businesses of all sizes.
Are you collaborating with other countries to develop Bürokratt?
What form does this collaboration take?
We are actively engaged in discussions with a number of countries to share our methods and explore technology transfer opportunities in order to create an interoperable network of virtual assistants.
Through these discussions, we seek to identify points of common interest and understand how our technologies can be adapted and reused in other countries.
Our ultimate aim is to promote innovation and collaboration in the public sector, and move towards a future where citizens around the globe have access to quality public services.
Many companies have also expressed interest in implementing Bürokratt in their operations, and some have already taken the plunge.
The widespread adoption of Bürokratt in the private sector comes as no surprise, since the tool is available as open source software.
Companies can easily take advantage of Bürokratt’s capabilities in terms of optimizing administrative tasks, reducing costs and increasing overall efficiency.
As the use of Bürokratt becomes more widespread in many sectors, we expect more and more organizations to benefit from its many advantages.
Privacy, trust and cybersecurity are major components of our development process, and we systematically ensure that our tools adhere to the highest security standards.
To this end, we implement rigorous security measures and protocols throughout the development cycle, from design to deployment.
We continuously monitor and respond to potential security breaches.
Our dedication to security and privacy is reflected in the high level of trust our users place in Bürokratt.
We recognize the vital importance of maintaining this trust, and will continue to prioritize security in the development of our technologies in the future.
Arthur Fertier
Trainee at CAdFE
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Contact us!
✉ contact@ccife.ee
CCI France-Estonie is proudly affiliated to CCI France International, the worldwide network of French Chambers of Commerce and Industry.
Accelerate your business thanks to the 1st private network of French companies in 94 countries: 119 chambers | 33,000 companies | 4,000 events | 300 committees | 1,200 exclusive advantages
Exclusively for members of the CCI Françaises à l’International, discover the CCIFI Connect app.
Website
Stay informed!
Made with ❤ by Cycoma
Copyright 2024 Chambre de Commerce et d’Industrie France Estonie
