China’s bureaucrats turn to AI, handwriting robots to cope with official paperwork
- While the tools can be useful for some mundane tasks, they are limited by not being trained on the latest information
- Some officials have also been caught out because their handwritten reports are suspiciously uniform or show sudden improvement
The authorities have yet to produce specific rules on using AI or robotics to write government reports, but there are all already a slew of laws and regulations governing the field, including the recently updated official secrecy law and the State Council’s first AI regulation issued last year.
Some officials have also let their subordinates try out the technology for some routine tasks, although they have warned there are limits to what can be done.
Tim Tian, a section head in the Zhejiang provincial government in eastern China, said some of his younger subordinates are using the latest AI platforms to draft speeches for their bosses and produce reports for the various inspection groups.
“This is quite popular among the younger clerks, who are IT savvy. I saw some of them using AI tools on their screen. I acquiesced and gave them a chance to try it out, as long as the copy they turn in is acceptable,” said Tian, who is in his late 30s.