Austrian Ministry of Education is the first department to test AI applications
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Loading... - Grace Elderman
- 14 Aug 2024
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The Ministry of Education in Austria has become the first government department in the country to systematically test artificial intelligence (AI) applications in their daily operations. Over the past several weeks, employees at the Ministry have been exploring the use of AI systems, with a particular focus on how these technologies can enhance efficiency and support various functions.
The initiative, which leverages the Ministry's strong ties to schools and universities—where AI tools like ChatGPT have already gained traction—aims to bring the Ministry "closer to the topic than others," according to Martin Polaschek, the department head.
Since April, 250 employees of the Federal Ministry of Education, Science, and Research (BMBWF) have had access to the AI system, which has been implemented through Microsoft Azure's cloud computing platform. The technology used is based on OpenAI's developments, including ChatGPT. Thomas Egger, head of the Information and Communication Technology Department, explained that a solution specifically tailored to the Ministry's needs has been created, ensuring both data security and sovereignty.
A crucial aspect of this setup is that Microsoft does not use any data from the Ministry to train its AI systems, nor does it store this information. This agreement was essential for the Ministry to proceed with the project, as emphasized by Martin Bauer, head of the IT, digitization, and media group within the department.
The demand for a customized AI solution was "extremely high," leading to the adoption of a "pragmatic approach" that guarantees secure and regulated use of the technology. Employees can access the AI applications through a dedicated interface on the Ministry's intranet, which also allows them to monitor the costs associated with their queries. The available tools include ChatGPT, an image generation application, text summarization and translation tools, and audio transcription services.
Given the positive reception and the low cost—approximately 20 cents per user per month—the Ministry plans to extend access to all 1,200 employees by autumn. Egger noted that experience shows employees tend to use only the tools they genuinely need.
In addition to these applications, the Ministry is working on developing an AI-supported "BMBWF knowledge database." This internal guide will assist employees with inquiries, such as those related to procurement processes, by using internal documents uploaded to the system.
Another innovative use of AI within the Ministry involves generating potential math problems for the central Matura exams. This system, currently in the "proof of concept" stage, uses AI to create new problem examples at various difficulty levels based on old exam tasks, following specially developed prompts to ensure accuracy and relevance.
