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Open-Source AI for Public Services

ABOUT

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU)-led multi-stakeholder initiative on Open-Source Generative AI for Public Services aims to develop an end-to-end, open-source implementation framework that enables public sector stakeholders to easily build and deploy their own GenAI solutions using modular, open-source software blueprints.

This initiative will provide governments and public institutions with all the necessary 'building blocks' and guidance required to assemble custom GenAI applications that are secure, transparent, scalable, interoperable, and cost-efficient.

The initiative is led by the ITU Open-Source Programme Office and coordinated through a multi-stakeholder working group, bringing together diverse stakeholders from around the world.

ONGOING WORK

GROWING COMMUNITY: As of December 2024, the initiative is working with more than 20 organizations, including the public and the private sector entities, UN agencies, and global development partners.	USE CASES: The initiative has collected and documented more than 20 use cases covering GenAI applications in citizen service delivery, public administration tasks, capacity building, and more.	REQUIREMENTS: The initiative has identified common high-level capabilities and non-functional requirements that a public sector GenAI stack should meet to effectively serve the diverse and evolving needs.

SOLUTION PROTOTYPES: The initiative is developing a stack of GenAI solution blueprints guided by common public sector use cases and core architecture requirements. The solution blueprints utilise modular components, are fully open-source and are hardware-agnostic.	DATASETS: The initiative is assembling custom datasets to benchmark existing GenAI tools and models and for fine-tuning for selected use cases to optimize performance on public sector data and queries.	COUNTRY WORK: The initiative is collaborating with GovStack, GIZ, and the Government of Kenya on developing a multilingual chatbot for public service discovery to boost awareness and effective use of e-services.

NEWS AND UPDATES

January 2025 - Workshop on High-Level Architecture Design for Shortlisted Use Cases
A two-day virtual workshop was organised to review and finalize the architecture design for one of the shortlisted use cases to guide the development of an MVP prototype in February-March 2025.

November 2024 - Webinar on Open-Source AI Standards
The webinar seeks to initiate a high-level dialogue between standardization organizations (SDOs) such as ISO, ITU, OSI and DPGA, alongside AI and open source experts, to explore the potential for open source AI in enhancing the compliance, monitoring, and impact assessment of Digital Public Goods (DPGs).

October 2024 - Workshop on Ideating AI-Driven Public Services
In October 2024, the working group ran a workshop on “Ideating AI-Driven Public Services.” The workshop gathered more than 40 participants, comprising working group members, public sector professionals, and digital transformation experts and specialists.

July 2024 - Launch of the Working Group
On 12 July 2024, the ITU Open-Source Programme Office (OSPO) convened a working group on Open-Source Generative AI for Digital Public Goods. This working group aims to develop a blueprint solution based entirely on open-source technology, adhering to the standards and requirements of the public sector.

GET IN TOUCH

Interested in learning more or in joining the initiative? GET IN TOUCH:

david.manset@itu.int

david.forden@itu.int

roman.chestnov@itu.int