In her “orbit”. Artificial Intelligence (TN) Greece has already joined, with applications that already exist and serve Greek citizens, such as the digital assistant of gov.gr but also others which are being launched by the leadership of the Ministry of Digital Governance, so that they can operate in a short period of time. Besides, the utilization of AI “as a public policy tool in various sectors”, as pointed out by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on the occasion of the establishment of the Advisory Committee on Artificial Intelligence, is one of the national priorities.

As he stated to the Athens Agency the Minister of Digital Governance, Dimitris Papastergiou: “Artificial Intelligence will undoubtedly affect all aspects of our lives to such an extent that in some industries we will speak of “before and after” eras of Artificial Intelligence. What is required of the government is the utilization of emerging cutting-edge technologies, so that our country, as it strengthens its digital leap in the future, does not just remain a user of such technologies, but is also a producer of them.”

Mr. Papastergiou underlined that “at the Ministry of Digital Governance we have already taken the first step. mAiGov, our digital assistant, is the first implementation of artificial intelligence in the Greek State. It is on gov.gr, it is working and has already received 300,000 questions. Our goal is that by 2024 the digital assistant will not just answer questions, but do things for us, e.g. book an ID appointment. And I believe this is just the beginning.”

He even added that “there are areas of policy, where by utilizing the existing volume of data as well as those that are now digitized, we can bring a small “revolution” to the daily lives of citizens and businesses. The analysis of data in prescriptions or the analysis of anonymous health data to draw up similar policies, supporting policies for an even fairer tax system based on real costs, speeding up the delivery of Justice by processing the millions of pages of records, facilitating the work of Judges, are only some of its dozens of uses. In addition, data analysis for even faster and more accurate awarding of pensions or the analysis of meteorological data in combination with existing river levels can give early warning of flooding phenomena, while news, photo and audio analysis mechanisms can free us from online cyber-fraud or misinformation ».

Concluding, the minister pointed out that “Artificial Intelligence is a field where we must work in concert with the aim of an even more modern and efficient state in order to continue gaining the trust of the citizens”.

Over 300 thousand dialogues in mAigov

It is worth pointing out that Greece is the first country in Europe where an AI-based application is piloting in the public sector. Already, since the first day of operation of the mAigov digital assistant, more than 300 thousand dialogues have taken place, while more than 90% of correct answers have been given to citizens, which guided them in their search for procedures with the public administration. In the coming days, it is even expected to “speak” 24 languages ​​in order to serve more users of the application, while in the immediate future it will undertake to carry out procedures on our behalf, such as making an appointment for vaccination, or at the KEP, digitally “downloading” a document , certificate of

In the meantime, AI tools have also been tested for firefighting, as was the case with the first pilot experiment in Penteli where AI programs were used that were able to quickly locate a smoke source. The systems that are planned to be put into the battle of firefighting, will use artificial intelligence technologies, with the aim of locating smoke points and sending automated updates to the Fire Department with a geolocation point.

At the same time, the geolocation technology will be able to contribute to the detection of arson, as it will accurately record the place and time of the start of a small outbreak, while the cameras will be able to detect people or even vehicles.