Council to use AI to catch speeding motorists

A council is to use artificial intelligence (AI) to catch speeding motorists, new policy papers have revealed.

Kent County Council says it will also aim to use the technology to find crumbling roads and identify residents who may be vulnerable to homelessness.

Council leader Roger Gough said the proposal had been made in view of AI’s “spectacular growth”.

“I can see it enriching what we do as an organisation and develop a better understanding of how we serve our population,” he said.

The technology could be used to generate data on how residents in independent living interact with their surroundings, to highlight council staff who may be likely to leave and to catch speeding motorists, according to policy papers.

“This involves the use of AI to highlight road sections where road users are not compliant with newly-introduced speed limits in order to determine where further action may be required,” the council document stated.

The council said the ServiceNow Chatbot could also help to streamline its answering of public queries, find relevant forms and deal with staff questions about computer systems or HR.

“It can direct staff into a chat with a human adviser if it is unable to assist,” the papers stated.

Drones are also being trialled to carry out inspections of vegetation, water, power and roadside utilities without using staff.

Councillor Antony Hook welcomed the AI document, but called for greater participation of younger members of staff whose suggestions could contribute to a “consortium of bright ideas”.

The document stated there was no financial implications in the development or establishment of the interim policy.

“Individual council projects that involve the development or use of AI technology will undoubtedly have cost implications that will be built into their respective business cases and project plans,” the document said.