Providing a better, more secure service to citizens through AI

In 2019, Malta’s government launched an AI strategy followed by a consultation process with several stakeholders, a process in which Microsoft had participated intensely.

This was followed by an ‘AI roadshow’ which Microsoft conducted with several ministries to explore how the company could lend its expertise, and also its technology, to a series of government projects in line with the strategy’s main pillars including transportation, health, education, culture, public finance and taxation.

“Unfortunately, a global pandemic almost brought things to an abrupt stop, but we saw this as an opportunity, and we kicked off a roadshow during which we could present our technology and our ideas in a gradual and more structured pace,” Kyle Anastasi from Microsoft Malta says.

 “We conducted online meetings with approximately 10 ministries with whom we discussed a number of projects.” “

Anastasi explains that the underlying aim of this roadshow was a “simple one”.

“We know that the government has been looking at better ways of servicing the public more efficiently with today’s available technology. From our end, we wanted to show the government how Microsoft’s AI technology can help by automating processes as much as possible to help achieve new levels of efficiency.”

Some of the projects discussed with different ministries have already been approved and have started being implemented, while some others are still being envisioned.

“We believe that no matter how important and meaningful the achievements at the government level are, citizens need to remain at the heart of any strategy. At Microsoft, we have always believed that unless Malta’s citizens reap the benefits of Microsoft’s presence in a more tangible manner, they cannot hugely appreciate the value that Microsoft has been bringing to Malta over the past 18 years. This is the underlying message we want to deliver through these projects,” Anastasi says.

Microsoft’s AI roadshow was conducted in close collaboration with MITA, with whom it has collaborated for many years. More recent collaborative projects include a government-wide investment on a hybrid cloud infrastructure platform based on Microsoft technology, the deployment of over 23,000 government users on Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Teams to enable more effective collaboration between teams and departments, as well as ongoing cybersecurity investments to better safeguard MITA’s technology platforms.

Although the adoption of AI into our daily lives is still in its early stages, we are very confident that people will acknowledge it once these technologies start adding tangible value to their daily lives

Yannis Zisos, digital adviser, customer transformation in Europe, Middle East, Africa (EMEA) at Microsoft was on the team throughout the AI roadshow, bringing in tangible examples of Microsoft’s success with similar projects in other countries and approaching the strategic and business aspects of the AI initiatives.

“We have always believed we have the right technology with which as partners to the government, we can contribute towards our commitment to improve citizens’ daily life. On the other hand, throughout this AI roadshow, we found out how at government level, the ideas were already there but once we came in with our technology, what were ideas suddenly became more grounded and concrete possibilities,” Zisos says.

Anastasi outlines that “although the concept of AI started becoming more talked about in the last few years, where we are today is the result of a long journey and yet another important milestone”.

He adds that since Microsoft’s arrival in Malta, the global corporation has constantly sought to be a veritable partner to the country.

“We have always been set on enabling Malta’s economic growth and establishing the country at the forefront of IT adoption. In fact, what we are doing now is the result of an MoU signed between Microsoft and the government four years ago, when we had pledged our support to a strategy that was to focus on three ‘Digital Malta’ pillars, namely a ‘digital government’, a ‘digital business sector’ and the ‘digital citizen’. This AI roadshow is now all about the ‘digital citizen’ pillar.”

Anastasi and Zisos both believe that the true potential of AI still needs to be discovered, experienced and appreciated.

“This happens with every revolutionary new technology: it takes long to kick in. We saw it happen with the internet, with e-commerce, with online shopping and, more recently, with cloud computing. Although the adoption of AI into our daily lives is still in its early stages, we are very confident that people will acknowledge it once these technologies start adding tangible value to their daily lives,” Anastasi said.

“This is why at Microsoft we chose to start being active on this front at government level. Already in 2018, we organised the first blockchain workshop for public sector employees and invested in several PoCs and pilot projects that focused specifically on emerging technologies. We then hosted awareness sessions for the public sector, as well as several workshop sessions on artificial intelligence scenarios.”

Zisos points out that concerns related to AI remain, especially when it comes to privacy and security and that these concerns are understandable.

“As far as Microsoft is concerned, we abide by a set of AI principles which are put into practice in all projects we embark on within this innovative area − principles that include fairness, reliability and safety, privacy and security, inclusiveness, transparency and accountability,” he says.

Anastasi adds: “The past years have been an important learning curve where we got to network and collaborate with hundreds of entities, businesses, start-ups and educators. Together with them, we have fostered a unique environment based on the principle that technology will always be the underlying driver of the future. This is why the main pillars of our work over the coming few years are going to be education, the fostering of more digital skills and AI.

“And this was why we wanted to be highly involved in the drafting of Malta’s AI strategy. We already know how for transport-related projects, our AI capabilities will seek to ease the flow of traffic; when it comes to children’s education, AI will enable us to make learning more interactive; and with regard to tourist-related projects, AI will certainly deliver a better and more tailor-made experience to tourists visiting us.”

Anastasi concludes that Microsoft’s aim is to assist the country, its commercial community and its institutions achieve their goals sustainably, through the use of AI and innovative technologies, with the ultimate goal of providing a better and more secure service to citizens.

“We have always been true to our commitments and this is what we intend to do again,” he says.