Senator Carper Emphasizes the Role of Artificial Intelligence in Improving Service Delivery at Government Agencies

Today at the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (HSGAC) hearing “Harnessing AI to Improve Government Services and Customer Experience,” U.S. Senator Tom Carper (D-Del.), a senior member of the Committee, posed questions on how federal agencies can use artificial intelligence (AI) to improve citizen engagement and service delivery.

During the hearing, Senator Carper emphasized his longstanding commitment to improving customer service in government agencies:

“I think of myself as a servant. And as governor of Delaware, we focused a whole lot on customer service […] People used to hate the Division of Revenue, which is like our IRS in Delaware. And we had a lousy reputation for service. My last year as governor, the folks at the Division of Revenue won the Customer Service Award for best service of any nonprofit or business entity in the state of Delaware. And we didn’t have AI then – imagine how good we could have been if we had AI!”

Senator Carper then highlighted how AI can be used to increase efficiency, effectiveness, and accessibility of government services:

“This is an important part of our jobs. Folks think about what we do around here as we pass budgets and we deal with international issues. We also focus on good customer service. And [the implementation of AI] may be a way that we can provide even better service. What can federal agencies do with the current tools at their disposal to deploy AI technology more efficiently in order to meet the evolving needs of the people we serve? And how will this improve the public’s perception and satisfaction of government services?”

A video of Senator Carper’s questions at today’s hearing can be found here.