ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) -Through a competitive process, Saige Consulting was selected to partner with the State of Alaska Department of Revenue (DOR) to modernize the Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend application process.
In a statement, Deputy Commissioner of the Alaska Department of Revenue Fadil Limani called the system a “true game changer for generations of Alaskans.”
“At DOR, we are committed to providing the highest level of service to our residents, especially for our PFD Program that holds a special place in the hearts of all Alaskans,” he said.
Saige Consulting will develop and implement an enhanced DOR system, known as a cloud-native application. They say it will streamline the process for the more than 600,000 eligible Alaskans who apply for and receive a PFD every year.
“I would just like to commend the commissioner and Deputy Commissioner…They could have decided to push this along to a future administration,” said Charles Hu, Senior Partner at Saige Consulting.
According to Saige, the change will use new technologies, including AI, to “greatly improve” the current platform and create a “better experience” for residents.
They say without this update, many residents would continue to have a poor application experience because of old technology, manual processes, and limited options for getting help.
Going on to say, “Alaska residents will save over 7 million minutes or 116,000 hours annually in application queries and follow-ups.”
The system redesign will bring new advances, such as automating processes, improving data management, modernizing the user experience (like making the mail-in application easier), strengthening fraud prevention, improving communication with residents, and speeding up application review times.
“As example, when you go and you’re filling out an application digitally…you don’t have the ability to upload supporting documentation, so simple things like that, as well as potentially an AI that helps you recommend what you need to do next in case you need to add any kind of supporting evidence,” Hu said.
He also points to CivicBridge, a framework created by Saige to help improve the application process for PFDD employees, making it quicker and simpler.
“On the document ingestion side, there are still about 60,000, or maybe a little bit higher, of paper applications, right? And so that has to be that goes through a manual process… We’re using Microsoft document intelligence and vision AI in order to absorb that documentation, as well as supporting evidence,” Hu said. “We want to eliminate the backlog… to be able to get out the PFD on time every year.”
He also mentioned that regarding eligibility, the system would utilize AI to interpret both the state’s constitution and any new statutes.
Addressing concerns about AI technology misinterpreting information, Hu said none of the systems are running automatically. He said an analyst still needs to be present and ensure that all information is correct.
When asked on Tuesday what type of impact the system would have on personnel, whether it could lead to reduced hours, layoffs, or simply eliminating unnecessary overtime, a DOR spokesperson pointed to the number of job openings within the department the system could help address.
Hu said that Alaska is one of the first areas in the United States to change its public services with this sort of technology.
They plan to begin implementing it in 2025, intending to have the system fully working for Alaska residents by early 2026.
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