Singapore government to build its own chatbots

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The Singapore government wants to be cutting-edge when it comes to using technology to improve public services. Now it’s incorporating a new buzzword into its repertoire: chatbots. Microsoft announced today it will work with the government to build prototype chatbots for selected public services.

The project will come in three phases. In the first phase, the government will build bots that will answer simple factual questions. Next, they’ll help citizens complete tasks and transactions within government websites. And third, they’ll be customized to each user to serve their needs better.

“I believe there are more intuitive ways for government services to be delivered to our citizens. Everybody expects responsive and personalised interactions in real time. The recent quantum improvement of natural language processing means that ‘conversations’ will be the new medium,” said Vivian Balakrishnan, the minister in charge of Smart Nation.

This is not Singapore’s first brush with chatbots. IDA has one called Ask Jamie, though it’s functionality appears limited. Maybe with Microsoft’s help, the government can take things up a notch.

Microsoft has been pushing its “conversation as a platform” in a bid to radically position itself to dominate the next shift in computing.

In other words, Microsoft anticipates that people will be talking more and more with computers, which could result in the biggest shift in computer interaction since the graphical user interface.

As such, Microsoft is racing against other tech giants like Apple, Google, Amazon, and Facebook to be the industry standard for conversational interfaces.

The Singapore government, too, is angling to reinvent itself and the country using technology. Recently, it’s been embarking on an effort to run public services using APIs.