Mr Patsy McGlone (Mid Ulster): To ask the Minister for Communities to detail the (i) use; and (ii) development, by (a) his Department; and (b) its arm’s-length bodies, of Artificial Intelligence products.
Minister for Communities: My Department uses Microsoft Copilot, an AI assistant which can be accessed as part of Office 365. It is used to align with my Department’s digital transformation goals by enhancing productivity, improving consistency, and supporting staff across the Department. In addition, my Department’s Mail Opening Unit employs an AI powered Strategic Scanning Solution, to assist with classifying incoming benefit-related correspondence.
All Arm’s Length Bodies sponsored by my Department have access to and use Microsoft Copilot, except for Foras na Gaeilge, the Local Government Staff Commission, the Northern Ireland Commissioner for Children and Young People, the Ulster-Scots Agency, and Ulster Supported Employment Limited.
The Arm’s Length Bodies which use additional AI to Copilot are detailed below:
| Department for Communities Arm’s Length Bodies | |||
| ALB Name | AI Product | Use | Development |
| Armagh Observatory Planetarium (AOP) | Chat-GPTGithub-Copilot | For the efficient developing of scientific codes | NIL |
| Generative AI tools (e.g. Canva, Dall.E) | To prepare education resources and promotional material | NIL | |
| Machine Learning Research Tools (e.g. Python packages like TensorFlow / PyTorch, SKlearn) | To build custom AI tools as part of astrophysics research. E.g. Build specific neural networks for clustering/ generation | Part of scientific research | |
| Libraries NI | Service Now (Fujitsu) | Helpdesk Support | NIL |
| Northern Ireland Housing Executive(NIHE) | Supplier: MicrosoftTool: Fabric | Uses AI to simplify data analysis, automate tasks, and improve decision-making. | NIL |
| Supplier: MRISystem: Income Analytics | Predictive Analytics: The system uses data to predict which residents are most likely to fall into rent arrears, enabling early intervention. | NIL | |
| Supplier: Enterprise RPAProduct: UCV SaaS Solution | The system deploys robot(s) to interact with the Department for Work and Pensions Portal, Housing Management, and Finance systems, to check and tenancy details automatically. | NIL | |
| Supplier: BT/CISCOSystem: Unified Communications system | For development purposes. | Proof of concept underway to investigate the use of AI to enhance collaboration, customer experience, and IT operations. | |
| Supplier: AspreyAsset Management IT System | For development purposes. | Review how AI could be used to streamline the processing of compliance documents using Optical Character Recognition. |
ENDS
Your MLA 