The Conversation AI

The big AI companies have already siphoned up the bulk of what’s to be had in the way of data from the internet. This publicly available data is easy to acquire but a mixed bag in terms of quality. If data is the fuel of AI, the holy grail for a big tech company is tapping into a new reserve of high quality data, especially if you have exclusive access. That reserve of data is collected – and guarded – by government agencies.

Government databases capture real decisions and their consequences and contain verified records of actual human behavior across entire populations over time, writes Middlebury public policy expert Allison Stanger.

“Unlike the disordered information available online, government records follow standardized protocols, undergo regular audits and must meet legal requirements for accuracy,” she writes. “For companies seeking to build next-generation AI systems, access to this data would create an almost insurmountable advantage.”