Presentation given by Art Alishani, AI in the WB. Second webinar: Challenges and opportunities of artificial intelligence in service delivery. SIGMA Webinar series on service design and delivery in the Western Balkan region in 2023.

1. ECePS ERA Chair on
E-Governance and Digital Public Services
Artificial Intelligence for Public Service Delivery in the Western
Balkans: Trends, Opportunities, and Challenges
ECePS ERA Chair has received funding from the European Union’s H2020
R&I program under grant agreement No 857622
Presenter: Art Alishani
Date: 06 June 2023
Virtual Event

2. ECePS ERA Chair – EC Grant Agreement number: 857622
Art Alishani
PhD Researcher at the University of
Tartu/Estonia
Previous working experience: UNHCR,
DigiGovLab, IOM, Open Data Kosovo, and
DG CNECT/EC
Contact: art.alishani@ut.ee

3. ECePS ERA Chair – EC Grant Agreement number: 857622

4. ECePS ERA Chair – EC Grant Agreement number: 857622
Artificial Intelligence in Government
AI Opportunities for
Government
AI Challenges for
Government
• Improved citizen engagement
• Personalised service delivery
• Analytics and informed decision-
making
• Fraud detection and prevention
• Lack of (good) quality data
• Lack of AI and data-management
skills
• ‘Risk-avesion’ culture in
government
• Ethical concerns and erosion of
democracy

5. ECePS ERA Chair – EC Grant Agreement number: 857622
Artific ial Intelligenc e in the Western
B alkans

6. ECePS ERA Chair – EC Grant Agreement number: 857622
Digital Transformation in the Western Balkans
2022 2021
e-Government
registered
users
% of users in
the total
population
e-Government
registered
users
% of users in
the total
population
Albania 2.543.311 91.1% 1.210.093 42.8%
Kosovo 638.939 36.6% 5.945 0.3%
Montenegro 80.000 12.9% 9.028 1.5%
North
Macedonia
72.932 4.0% 34.934 1.7%
Serbia 1.320.305 19.4% 1.026.347 14.9%
Source: (Metamorphosis Foundation et al.,
2022)

7. ECePS ERA Chair – EC Grant Agreement number: 857622
An Overview of National AI Strategies in the Western
Balkans
Albania
B osnia and
Herzegovina
Kosovo
Albania does not have a national
AI strategy or published plan
regarding AI (at least for the time
being)
Policy: Albania’s Digital Agenda
(and action plan) for 2022-2026
No AI-related regulations/
actions
Bosnia and Herzegovina does not
have a national AI strategy or
published plan regarding AI (at
least for the time being)
Kosovo does not have a national
AI strategy or published plan
regarding AI (at least for the time
being)
Source: (BIRN,2023)

8. ECePS ERA Chair – EC Grant Agreement number: 857622
An Overview of National AI Strategies in the
Western Balkans
Montenegro North Macedonia S erbia
Montenegro does not have a
national AI strategy or published
plan regarding AI (at least for the
time being)
Followed EU Digital Compass
principles to adopt a regulatory
framework regarding emerging
technologies.
In 2021, a working group was
formed to create the National
Strategy for AI
The strategy has not been
published yet
The first country in the region to
develop AI-related legislation
Strategy of Development of
Artificial Intelligence in the
Republic of Serbia 2020 –
2025
Source: (BIRN,2023)

9. ECePS ERA Chair – EC Grant Agreement number: 857622
Cases of Artificial Intelligenc e in the Western
B alkans

10. ECePS ERA Chair – EC Grant Agreement number: 857622
alGOVrithms Studies

11. ECePS ERA Chair – EC Grant Agreement number: 857622
Automated Decision-Making in the Western
Balkans
S ystem of Automated Management of
Court Cases (CCMIS /ICMIS ) -
Albania
The ADM is part of the CCMIS/ICMIS system
The ADM allocates cases to judges:
Based on the department
Equal burden on judges
ADM goal: increase operational efficiency, minimise
human interference, and ensure system fairness
Funding: External donor
The ADM is integrated into the SMIL system
The ADM allocates cases to judges:
Based on the department
Equal burden on judges
Equal probability for new cases
ADM goal: increase operational efficiency, minimise
human interference, and ensure system fairness
Funding: External donor
Information System for Case
Management (S MIL)- Kosovo
Source: (Alishani et al. 2021)

12. ECePS ERA Chair – EC Grant Agreement number: 857622
Automated Decision-Making in the Western
Balkans
Management Information System
(ACCMIS )- North Macedonia
Automate allocation of court cases
The system was suspended after
reported misusage controversies
Issues that led to its suspension are
governance and not technology related
Random Alloc ation of Judges -
S erbia
Automate allocation of court cases based on:
• Equal burden on judges
• Equal probability for new cases
Cases are differentiated based on area,
difficulty, and urgency
The stated goal: increase operational
efficiency, minimise human interferences, and
ensure system fairness
Funding: External donor
Source: (Alishani et al. 2021; Izdebski et al., 2019)

13. ECePS ERA Chair – EC Grant Agreement number: 857622
Other cases of Automated Decision-Making in the
Western Balkans
E-Procurement
B ureau North
Mac edonia
Tax Administration
Kosovo
Public Health S erbia
Risk analysis/ identify cases for
inspection
Identified 70% of the cases for
inspection
Allocate cases to inspectors.
ADM is developed in-house (external
expertise)
Automates the reading of chest X-Rays
Process images to provide initial
diagnosis
Triage patients
Chest X-rays are taken at different
clinics → AI provides the initial
diagnosis → doctors review the
outcome
The system accuracy rate: 71.4%
Automated bid ranking and
automated notifications
Accuracy is controlled internally
Parties can complain and point out
potential mistakes
Source: (Alishani et al., 2021; Lal Das., 2022).
Burden reduction for doctors
Process effectiveness Human interference

14. ECePS ERA Chair – EC Grant Agreement number: 857622
Chatbots in the Western Balkans

15. ECePS ERA Chair – EC Grant Agreement number: 857622
Chatbots in the Western Balkans
Voice-based Assistant for Digital
Public Servic es- Albania
Develop a voice-based chatbot to
provide support for digital public
services
The chatbot will be available for phone
users
Provided at the national level
announced by the Albanian PM.
To be introduced during 2023
Municipal Intelligent Assistant (MIA)-
B osnia and Herzegovina and Serbia
Provides information on administrative
procedures, working hours, and contact
details in 4 municipalities in BiH and SRB
MIA chatbot is accessed through Viber
and City portals

16. ECePS ERA Chair – EC Grant Agreement number: 857622
Chatbots in the Western Balkans
ADA- North Mac edonia
Provides information about foreign and
domestic investment assistance
Operates based on information that is already
available to the public
Zero human contact in the interaction
Development stages:
Currently: Q&A
Future: Single-point of access to
government information
Inspec tor Virtual Assistant (IVA)-
S erbia
IVA: provides support to fill out the online complaint
reporting form on the web portal of the
Coordinated Commission for Inspection Oversight
Over 16 000 complaints were filed in the first
year; over 10,000 went to the relevant institutions
Development stages:
I: Support users to fill out the form
II: Provide initial preliminary assessment for
questions/ submissions
III: Provide information on legislation and
inspection practices

17. ECePS ERA Chair – EC Grant Agreement number: 857622
AI Challenges in the Western Balkans (I)
There is a positive trend for AI deployment in the WB governments
Legal frameworks to develop and implement trustworthy AI in
government
Transparency and accountability.
Minimise privacy concerns and ensure data protection.
Promote stakeholder engagement.
Service providers’ transparency:
Making information available online
Creating an AI Register
Promoting existing use cases
Systematic frameworks to procure, monitor, and evaluate AI in
government

18. ECePS ERA Chair – EC Grant Agreement number: 857622
AI Challenges in the Western Balkans (II)
‘Good’ data to develop advanced AI-powered
services
Many services are delivered offline
Data remains fragmented
The willingness of both citizens and service providers
National and regional collaborations
Information is available in the local languages
Privacy concerns = Digitalization challenge
Cyberattacks (Albania, Montenegro, Serbia)
Data leakages (Serbia)

19. ECePS ERA Chair – EC Grant Agreement number: 857622
Missing: Citizen perspective towards AI-powered
services.
Citizen perceptions:
What is the perception of citizens in the WB towards AI-
powered services?
Trust in government:
How much do citizens in the WB trust their governments?
How does citizen degree of trust in government affect their
willingness to use AI-powered services?
Trust in technology:
How much do citizens in the WB trust technology?
How does citizen degree of trust in technology affect their
willingness to use AI-powered services?
Citizen concerns over privacy and security issues:
How concerned are citizens in the WB to disclose personal
information online?
How do citizens’ privacy concerns affect their willingness to
disclose personal information online?

20. ECePS ERA Chair – EC Grant Agreement number: 857622
Thank you for your attention!
Let’s stay in touch!
Art Alishani
PhD Researcher at the University of Tartu
Email: art.alishani@ut.ee
LinkedIn: Art Alishani

21. ECePS ERA Chair – EC Grant Agreement number: 857622
Citations
Alishani A., Izdebski, K., Skop, M., Sandor, L., Arsovski,G., (March, 2021) “alGOVrithms 2.0: STATE of PLAYReport on Algorithm
Usage in Government-Citizen Relations in Kosovo, Poland, Czech Republic, Poland and North Macedonia” , Open Data Kosovo.
https://metamorphosis.org.mk/en/izdanija_arhiva/algovrithms-2-0-thestate-of-play/
Metamorphosis Foundation, e-Governance Academy, Partners for Democratic Change Serbia, NGO 35mm, Open Data Kosovo,
& Lѐvizja Mjaft! (2022). Digital Agenda Observator: Research on the state of e-government development & digital literacy in the
targeted Western Balkan countries. Retrieved May 24, 2023, from https://metamorphosis.org.mk/wp-
content/uploads/2023/01/final-dao_en.pdf
Engin, Z., & Treleaven, P. (2019). Algorithmic government: Automating public services and supporting civil servants in using data
science technologies. The Computer Journal, 62(3), 448-460.
Lal Das. (2022). Algorithms in Government A Magic Formula or a Divisive Force? Digital Impact Alliance. Retrieved May 26, 2023,
from https://dial.global/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Algorithms-in-Government.pdf
Valle-Cruz, D., & Sandoval-Almazan, R. (2018, May). Towards an understanding of artificial intelligence in government.
In Proceedings of the 19th Annual International Conference on Digital Government Research: Governance in the Data Age(pp. 1-
2).