[LINK] Centrelink relies on artificial intelligence

[David Boxall]

There are so many potential jokes in that headline ...
<http://www.itnews.com.au/News/83141,centrelink-relies-on-artificial-intelligence.aspx>

> Centrelink is using natural language-based artificial intelligence to 
> ensure people get the financial benefits to which they are entitled.
>
> The intelligence forms the backbone of a business rules and compliance 
> software engine created by Aussie developer, Haley.
>
> Centrelink is one of several local government agencies and departments 
> to use Haley’s Office Rules software to ensure Aussies get their 
> correct entitlements from government.
>
> Other users include the Department of Veterans’ Affairs, which 
> implemented the system to help explain to veterans why they received a 
> particular determination – rather than simply present them with an 
> amount of money.
>
> The software is said to have reduced appeals by veterans in relation 
> to the amount of their benefit by up to 30 percent, according to Haley 
> chief executive, Dominic O’Hanlon.
>
> Artificial intelligence (AI) is central to the Haley software. 
> Originally developed by graduate students from Australian National 
> University (ANU) in Canberra, the AI lets users write business rules 
> in natural language rather than in code.
>
> “The AI can read a sentence, identify the nouns and verbs and then 
> re-write it in multiple forms without writing any code,” O’Hanlon told 
> iTnews.
>
> The technology then maps the fastest path to a determination, 
> according to O’Hanlon.
>
> In a web-based environment, such as a self-service portal, this means 
> it is capable of generating a series of questions and presenting them 
> in a logical order to help make an online determination of whether 
> someone is entitled to make a claim or receive a benefit.
>
> “We can also take rules in English and present them in Spanish,” said 
> O’Hanlon.
>
> “The software can handle multiple languages, as well as grammatical 
> translation and interpretation.”
>
> The company currently is in the process of adding double-byte language 
> capabilities to the AI engine.
>
> It conducts research and development in Canberra, the United States 
> and Manila.
>
> Other uses for the software include locating orphan provisions and 
> other holes in legislative documents.
>
> Haley has undergone a series of rebrandings since its launch in 1989. 
> At one time it was known as RuleBurst, following a management buy-out 
> and delisting from the stock exchange in 2005.
>
> O’Hanlon said it has grown three-fold in the last three years, and 
> that half of revenues now come from overseas markets.
>
> It is headquartered in Sydney and employs 115 people globally.
>
> Haley maintains several OEM and systems integration partnerships with 
> the likes of IBM, Accenture, Oracle and SAP.
>
-- 
David Boxall | Any given program,
| when running correctly,
| is obsolete.
| --Arthur C. Clarke