As Federal agencies look to modernize or transform their IT systems, a new report from the IBM Center for The Business of Government recommends that agencies leverage robotic process automation (RPA) and generative AI to help solve technology challenges that exist within government.
The 50-page report, titled Digital Modernization for Government: An Implementation Framework, offers many solutions to government agencies looking to modernize their systems. However, RPA and generative AI stand out as emerging tools that the report identifies as “relatively easy” solutions.
The report calls RPA “an elegant solution to several technology and human capital issues” in government, including streamlining routine tasks, improving overall operational efficiency, and enhancing accuracy and compliance.
“We have been leveraging the benefits of RPA for some time now. We use it in automating business processes, especially when dealing with integrating processes and data between disparate legacy systems,” Melinda Rogers, chief information officer (CIO) at the Department of Justice, said in the report.
“Whether that’s compiling cybersecurity, monitoring data from sources or optimizing complex workflows, robotic process automation has allowed justice to move forward with automation for critical business functions without having to invest in a whole system or platform efforts,” Rogers added.
Due to its many benefits, the report says, “RPA is close to a ‘must have’ for modernization or transformation initiatives.” It recommends that agencies follow what IBM is calling the “RCCE model” when assessing RPA candidates: Repeatability, Consistency, Criticality, and Ease.
As for generative AI, the report says it has the potential to play a “key role” in government technology modernization. However, to leverage generative AI effectively, the report warns that government leaders must ensure its ethical use and compliance with regulatory frameworks.
“My guess would be that we probably have about 6 percent of our knowledge structured. It’s a bit ironic that we take a lot of confidence from that structured information, but it only represents 6 percent of our knowledge,” Alexis Bonnell, the CIO and director of the Digital Capabilities Directorate at the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), said in the report.
“The surprise and excitement for me – as I look at this job now and in the coming years – is the ability to put all of our knowledge on the table, to be able to use generative AI,” Bonnell said.
According to the report, generative AI can assist in government modernization “through mindful and responsible automating and streamlining administrative processes.” Additionally, it can drive transformation in citizen engagement and service delivery, as well as support decision-making and scenario planning.
“People [in large part] are turning to generative AI tools, including GPT, to reduce toil – to take things that might have taken them four hours before and get them done in four minutes. To be clear, AI isn’t about giving us the answers. It’s helping us curate and have options at speed and scale,” Bonnell added.
Nevertheless, the report closes by encouraging government technology leaders to balance both short-term and long-term strategies of digital transformation and modernization in order to create and maintain public value.
“This dual focus ensures that immediate operational efficiencies are achieved while laying the groundwork for future advancements,” the report says. “The maturation of next-generation digital technologies, such as large language models (LLMs) and quantum computing, will only amplify the importance of this balanced approach.”
