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GenAI from the block: how artificial intelligence and blockchain are helping Buenos Aires digitize
The city of Buenos Aires is carrying out digital transformation linked to technologies such as blockchain and generative artificial intelligence (genAI).
“The government began a strong digitalization in 2007 and, like any large organization, the evolution is not homogeneous in all sectors,” said Diego Fernández, secretary for digital transformation of the city, during an event hosted by AWS.
The city chose AWS to build its datalake to make data-driven decisions and gain a more complete view of operations.
To ensure interoperability in a standardized and secure way, the city has adopted Estonia’s open source solution, called X-Road, which facilitates the exchange of information between government bodies in a confidential, secure and verifiable manner. In Buenos Aires, X-Road is working on 150 use cases, including civil registration documents and proof of registration with the tax agency.
“We want to reach 500 use cases in 2024,” added Fernández.
According to the city website, X-Road has saved the city and citizens 1,460 days of time since implementation in 2022.
BLOCKCHAIN
The city’s blockchain-based Quark ID protocol, developed with Extrimian and other players, was released as open source in February.
“It is a digital security platform or structure that allows us to regain control of our identity,” Fernández told BNamericas.
He added that digital identity is currently only “pseudo-digitised”, with different wallets accessing personal data and plausible information.
“We have seen everywhere how they hack you and start showing credentials directly. Well, with this model it is impossible because the credentials are exclusively on my mobile device and are cryptographically encrypted against a digital identifier stored in the blockchain,” she said.
The development is based on an international standard, which would enable global interoperability.
Fernández said the city is also working with provinces like Tucumán that are interested in the system. Testing is also underway in Bogotá, Nuevo León and Monterrey in Mexico, among other cities.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
Buenos Aires has started testing genAI for its Boti chatbot, the largest WhatsApp chatbot globally, according to owner Half.
“We are in an experimentation process, with very small and very limited flows, to understand how we can use the generative artificial intelligence system for conversational interactions,” Fernández said.
When asked about data security, he said “it’s an issue” to check whether genAI is fully implemented. The city, in any case, has set a long deadline of two years for the implementation of genAI in Boti.
Currently 90% of contacts between administration and citizens are digital and 30% take place via Boti.
The first AI tests are being carried out with ChatGPT in the tourism and culture sectors. In an initial contact, the application is evaluated to determine whether it is malicious in nature and will only be sent to genAI if it passes that filter.
One concern is that the official AI-powered chatbot will be used to ask for political opinions.
The test “was very effective in making careful responses, but it also blocked creativity,” Fernández said at the event. Now, Buenos Aires is working with Madrid, which operates the MadridGPT artificial intelligence, to improve results. “In technology, collaborative work is key,” he added.
Fernández also said that the work with AWS includes tools to create artificial intelligence models.