by Dr. Julie DeSot, Program Manager
In the age of TikTok dance crazes and meme-able moments, marketers revel in viral sensations that sweep the globe. Over the decades, we've seen several marketing campaigns gain virality, from Wendy’s “Where’s the Beef,” to Nike’s “Just Do It,” and Staples’ “Easy” button.
With all the hype around Generative AI, many are positioning it as the new “Easy” button—not just from a marketing perspective but from a workplace perspective. Need to generate narrative content? ChatGPT, Jasper.ai, and Google Gemini are a click away. Want to create new images? Midjourney and DALL-E readily craft images from your text inputs. Developers, need help writing code? Let CodeWhisperer or CoPilot do it for you.
However, calling it “Easy” might be overreaching. Rather, I think Generative AI can serve as our “Helpful” button—making things EASIER for the federal workforce.
The Office of Personnel Management’s “Responsible Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence for the Federal Workforce” positions Generative AI as a means to “improve creativity, efficiency and productivity.” Now, automation techniques like robotic process automation (RPA) also deliver efficiency and productivity. The difference-maker with Generative AI: creativity. By “creativity” I don’t mean more imaginative writing or whimsical images like kittens wearing cowboy hats (which came up in a generative AI query as a popular image generation topic). Rather, Generative AI can directly support more creative problem-solving and personalized experiences to advance agency priorities.
Let’s consider some federal use cases.
Many agencies are already using Generative AI to create new content: writing summaries of rules and creating first drafts of memos. Gen AI, though, holds even greater potential.
One of the areas I find most promising is data interpretation using natural language processing (NLP). Facing the need to review and analyze large volumes of content that may include tabular data, reams of narrative, images, and video, analysts or researchers can spend hours, days, and weeks reviewing and re-reviewing content…all before they can begin to analyze the information to make recommendations or decisions.
Generative AI models equipped with natural language processing capabilities can interpret all that information and generate easy-to-understand narratives. By converting the complex into language summaries, AI tools can help experts and non-experts alike readily gain insights from large volumes of data. The direct applicability to the mission areas Unissant serves—making the nation healthy and safe—are numerous, from healthcare policy and research to internal trade and immigration.
A second area that excites me is applying Generative AI to improve user experience. Beyond improving chatbot responses, Gen AI holds the power to deliver more individualized interactions—and given the broad spectrum of federal constituents, a personalized and tailored experience serves to boost trust in federal services.
Envision a federal system that analyzes user behaviors and preferences to deliver personalized insights based upon a user’s demographics and/or role. Generative AI can recommend more efficient ways of working or anticipate questions based on the experiences of similar users. Systems could use generative AI to present tailored, timely, role-specific guidance beyond static user guides or FAQs. The potential to improve the end user experience—and enhance trust between government and its constituents—is intriguing.
So, it’s time to get creative about how Generative AI can address complex challenges. Focus on where Generative AI makes things EASIER—for both government personnel and the people they serve. Unissant partners with clients to understand their most daunting challenges and explore how Generative AI might improve services. We’re excited to apply that “Helpful” Generative AI button to use cases that deliver the most value for agency missions.
