Using AI to improve local services - with people always in control

At West Berkshire Council we're starting to use artificial intelligence (AI) to assist our staff - making work more efficient and helping improve the services you rely on, while keeping people firmly in charge of all the important decisions.

One great example of this is how the Council is tackling road maintenance.
 
AI technology is helping the council monitor the condition of the roads. Using video surveys, an AI tool scans the roads to spot problems like potholes and cracks. This technology identifies which areas need attention more quickly than traditional methods alone as it's able to look through hours of video footage.
 
While AI helps spot these issues, the decision on what to repair and when is still made by human experts. This means roads get fixed faster, improving safety, without losing the personal oversight of experienced council staff.

Another area is the implementation of a document translating programme. This tool translates documents into 75 languages while preserving formatting and will continue to increase our annual savings as it becomes more widely adopted across the Council. 

AI is also helping to streamline other Council operations. For example, the recruitment process is being sped up with the help of AI, which assists in creating job adverts. Future initiatives will include the launch of an AI-powered assistant embedded on the council's website, aimed at facilitating residents' enquiries.

By using AI, we are making every day processes smoother and quicker, freeing up staff to focus on more complex tasks that require a human touch.

But rest assured, while AI is being used to assist and improve efficiency, it's not replacing the role of people in making decisions and we're showing how AI can be a valuable tool, but one that works alongside humans—not in place of them.