AI is finally being used for some good. As artificial intelligence is being used to make fake news and cheat on homework, the U.S. Department of the Treasury announced that it put the technology to work to save taxpayers $1 billion.
In a press release, the department revealed that its technology and data-driven approach to fraud and improper payment prevention enabled the recovery of $4 billion between Oct. 2023 and Sept. 2024. That is more than $650 million more in recovered funds than the prior fiscal year.
A quarter of the recovered $4 billion is thanks to the department’s efforts to expedite the identification of check fraud with machine learning AI. The remaining recovered funds came from the department expanding risk-based screening, identifying and prioritizing high-risk transactions, and implementing efficiencies in payment processing schedule.
“Treasury takes seriously our responsibility to serve as effective stewards of taxpayer money,” Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo said. “Helping ensure that agencies pay the right person, in the right amount, at the right time is central to our efforts.”
“We’ve made significant progress during the past year in preventing over $4 billion in fraudulent and improper payments,” Adeyemo continued. “We will continue to partner with others in the federal government to equip them with the necessary tools, data, and expertise they need to stop improper payments and fraud.”
Moving forward, the department is focused on establishing and strengthening partnerships to increase access to and usage of federally-funded, state-administered programs.
In its work, the department disburses over $6.9 trillion dollars to more than 100 million people annually. With the knowledge that online payment fraud is expected to surpass $362 billion by 2028, the department said it’s dedicated to mitigating the risk of fraud by using emerging technology such as AI.
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The post How the Treasury Department Used AI To Save Taxpayers $1 Billion appeared first on VICE.
