0
Hwang Kyu-chul, head of the Artificial Intelligence Government Bureau at the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, delivers a briefing on the current usage status and future development plans of the 'AI Gov24' pilot service at the press room of the Government Complex Sejong on the 30th. / Courtesy of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety

The government plans to intensify its efforts to improve the pilot program of "AI Government 24" so that digitally vulnerable groups, including the elderly, can utilize civil administrative services without difficulties.

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety announced on the 30th that an analysis of the pilot service operations showed a cumulative user count of 28.48 million and a total of 30.46 million inquiries processed over approximately three months since last March.

AI Gov24 is a service where the AI contextualizes conversational queries and recommends optimal services or guides application procedures even if citizens use everyday language instead of precise administrative terminology.

A detailed look at the usage patterns reveals that short, term-based keyword inquiries dominated the platform at 93%, while natural conversational queries accounted for 7%. Interestingly, the proportion of natural language inquiries was relatively higher among teenagers and those in their 60s compared to users in their 20s to 50s.

During the actual pilot operations, when an elderly user typed a query containing typos, such as "I am a 70-year-old living alone. Want to know gov benefis [benefits]," the AI successfully understood the intent and recommended tailored programs like the Customized Elderly Care Service and Senior Employment Support Projects. In another instance, when a Seoul resident asked about pregnancy support policies and followed up with, "Are there any benefits for fertility treatments?", the AI grasped the conversational context to provide eligibility criteria and application steps for Seoul's subfertility treatment support program.

Building on these milestones, the ministry will phasedly roll out a conversational document issuance service powered by AI agents starting later this year. This service will prioritize high-demand administrative documents, including resident registration certificates and land ledgers, allowing users to obtain paperwork solely through a conversation with the AI and identity authentication, eliminating the need to fill out separate application forms.

Furthermore, the government plans to standardize and structure civil service data across all ministries to minimize AI hallucinations and maximize answer accuracy. For older adults, dedicated simplified interfaces and voice-activated conversational features will be expanded.

"AI Gov24 will serve as a vital stepping stone toward an AI-driven democratic government that responds to the voice of every single citizen through the powerful tool of artificial intelligence," Minister of the Interior and Safety Yoon Ho-jung stated. "By successfully implementing a fully conversational document issuance service by the end of this year, we will create a citizen-centric public service where the benefits of digital technology are shared equally among all people without discrimination."

                                                                                                            Kim Bo-young