Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1338643
OPINION 11.2.2021 Alexiei Dingli Prof Alexiei Dingli is a Professor of AI at the University of Malta and has been conducting research and working in the field of AI for more than two decades, assisting different companies to implement AI solutions. He forms part of the Malta.AI task-force, set up by the Maltese government, aimed at making Malta one of the top AI countries in the world A government is a group of people with authority to administer a country. As any other institution, people manage it, and as such, the weakest part of the system is the human element. People get tired, their decisions are not always sound, and as a result, make mistakes. Because of this, governments need a new way of interacting with citizens. A system which provides their people with the services they require but stripped of all the red tape. It might sound like a panacea, but in reality, the foundations for such a sys- tem are already in place, all we have to do is create a Citizen Twin. A Citizen Twin is a virtual copy of a real person whose goal is to help every- one lead an enjoyable life. It proposes a radical way of communicating with our governments by acting as a medi- ator between the virtual world and the physical space. People will no longer be restrained to their devices (such as a mobile phone, tablet or computer screen), but they will interact with governments us- ing more natural interfaces (such as speech). Sensors, located nationwide, will be- come their extended feelers. e in- formation collected is then analysed using advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI) algorithms and fed back to people in various forms. Whereas before, most of the connec- tions were physical, now everything is shifting to digital. But I'm sure you're wondering how it affects you as a citizen? Imagine a person waiting at a bus stop to go for an appointment with a public servant. e Citizen Twin will automatically communicate with his mobile device and push real-time bus scheduling information. e person did not request the data, but the bus stop provided the required data. If the bus is delayed, the Citizen Twin alerts the public servant con- cerned; automatically rescheduling the appointment. Elderly people who are still independ- ent do not need to wear an annoying bracelet or worse, get institutionalised. A non-intrusive system will silently monitor the person in his house and raise automated alerts if the need for assistance arises. Governments will no longer issue carpet schemes with the hope of reach- ing the intended beneficiaries. e in- centives will be automatically designed by the system and personalised for the individual's needs. e Citizen Twin will learn from past experience, it will combine data from various departments and optimise gov- ernment spending. People would not need to apply either. A shop closed due to the pandemic would simply have its incentives calculated by the AI, based on past performance. e owner would then receive a message on his phone asking him whether he would like to benefit from the scheme and if he ap- proves, he'll simply receive the money in his bank account. If we look at medical screening pro- grams currently in use, most of them utilise statistical analysis. Take breast cancer; screening involves all women after the age of 40. But some women are more prone than others, so why not focus on those? A Citizen Twin can be much more precise; it can check if the person is physically active, overweight, drinks alcohol, their medical history, and so much more. If these factors are combined, the system can predict with high accuracy whether the person is more prone to develop cancer and in that case, refer her for testing while excluding those within the low-risk category. A Citizen Twin can easily combine data analytics, machine learning and AI to predict financial mishaps before they happen. e state can identify who is not getting the support they are entitled to and reach out to them ahead of time. A person who has just been diag- nosed with an illness might not be aware that he is entitled to free drugs financed by the state. ese programs will help people get all the assistance they need, thus ensuring that everyone benefits from the welfare state, espe- cially those in need. Some countries tag offenders under house arrest with electronic bracelets. ese people are not expected to stay home all day but have restricted mo- bility and well-defined time windows. e Citizen Twin can create a geofence for them and raises an alert if they ven- ture beyond their restricted zone. However, it can do much more; it can calculate the probability of meet- ing a past victim. If a person accused of domestic violence walks close to his partner's house, then the likelihood of relapsing increases. To avoid such situ- ations, the Citizen Twin will direct the person towards choosing an alternate route, thus helping him throughout his reformation process. But the idea of a Citizen Twin goes much further. A significant barrier to such a system is, without doubt, the fear of living under the vigilant eye of a big brother. But there are solutions to that. To- day's algorithms store the personal data on the person's own device. e AI programs will then use techniques that access the device, learn the trends, and upload only anonymised data to the central server. If this is not reassur- ing enough, citizens can always stop the learning algorithms from accessing their data. Such a system will ensure that data access is both ethical and se- cure. By using a Citizen Twin system, the AI can assist people in their daily lives. As a whole, this process brings new value to society in ways not previous- ly possible before. People will get what they're entitled to. Public funds will be channelled to those who really need them and taken from those abusing the system. e Citizen Twin will promote equity in society while ensuring that no one lags behind. The future of governments