Robotics are being eyed to replace some government workers, potentially saving $3.3 billion and speeding simple processing of forms and payments by a whopping 80 percent, according to a new report.
Called a “no collar workforce,” robotics and software would be put in dozens of positions, from quickly forwarding emails to checking forms like tax returns for missing information, the type of busy work humans in the government do.
A new report issued Monday from Deloitte on government tech trends said that a handful of states and several federal agencies, including Treasury, were looking at “bots.”
Under the header, “There is a bot for that,” Deloitte listed 15 “process jobs.”
In the government a “bot” would be more software than a physical robot like on an assembly line, said the firm which helps firms with AI. “It is not walking talking robots,” said Deloitte.
“It is software, rules-based, here and now,” it added.
The report gave three examples:
- Emails which simply require forwarding to the right department and are handled and emailed every morning before you even get to work.
- Routine manual tasks, such as forms submitted online are reviewed and source files are checked to fill in missing information.
- Expenses are imported instantly, filtered to the right approver, and authorized payments are sent out automatically.
In one case, Deloitte said it provided process robotics for NASA and helped the agency save $1 million and 25,000 hours of manual labor.
“Process robotics can execute routine tasks to which the federal government is currently allocating human resources with a higher throughput rate, significantly reduced error rates, and less reliance on costly contractor support,” said the firm’s report.
Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner's "Washington Secrets" columnist, can be contacted at pbedard@washingtonexaminer.com
