Vanguard Magazine

30 DECEMBER 2024/JANUARY 2025 www.vanguardcanada.com T H E LA S T W O R D One of the biggest pain points for gov- ernment operations has been with Canada's public servants pay system. Among the problems, tests were not properly conduct- ed and discrepancies between government requirements and software vendor delivery resulted in widespread payroll errors. Some employees received double pay- checks, while others went unpaid for months. Calculating pay for temporary act- ing roles proved complex, leading to fur- ther inaccuracies. Public Services and Procurement Canada has turned to intelligent automation to ad- dress these issues. It is using a unified plat- form to deploy a digital workforce tasked with performing data validation checks to identify errors that might have been over- looked by humans. The digital workforce is helping to resolve backlog issues involving thousands of public worker employees who had received incorrect pay. The depart- ment is also using AI to help their agents process transactions faster and help reduce potential errors. Enhancing oversight There are many tasks that will always need a human touch, and human-in-the-loop (HITL) oversight integrates the digital and human workforce to enhance business process efficiency. For instance, a HITL automation can complete a contact form and forward it to an employee for verifica- tion before it is entered into the system. HITL allows for end-to-end process auto- mation, but human employees review and approve the final decisions. HITL automation allows for seamless workload sharing, enabling users to trigger workflows initiated by digital workers and manage tasks. It also helps ensure regula- tory compliance by adding an essential layer of oversight to automated processes. The adaptability provided by human over- sight allows for the handling of complex or unexpected situations, ensuring processes remain efficient and effective. Human in- put also creates a feedback loop that helps improve AI models, enhancing their accu- racy and performance over time. Optimizing resources Government agencies may be generally aware of the capabilities of AI but struggle to identify specific areas where these tech- nologies would be beneficial. The global tech talent gap continues to be an issue for both the public and private sectors. This shortage makes it difficult to implement advanced technologies that require signifi- cant technical expertise. Intelligent automation platforms enable no-code development, so non-technical staff can participate in the deployment process, reducing the dependency on specialized technical talent. No-code de- velopment allows agencies to quickly test use cases without the need for traditional coding. Agents get a visual interface, often with drag-and-drop capabilities, to assem- ble features and functionalities seamlessly. The promise of AI is vast, but these are still early days. While Canada's govern- ment is committed to adopting respon- sible AI, more insight and public input is needed. Public buy-in is essential for the success of AI initiatives, as it fosters trust and transparency. James Spencer, is Director of Government Solutions Engineering at SS&C Blue Prism The adaptability provided by human oversight allows for the handling of complex or unexpected situations, ensuring processes remain efficient and effective. Human input also creates a feedback loop that helps improve AI models, enhancing their accuracy and performance over time.

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