Haley

[Jane B]

Centrelink relies on artificial intelligence

By Ry Crozier 25 August 2008

Centrelink is using natural language-based artificial intelligence to ensure people get the financial benefits to which they are entitled.

The intelligence forms the backbone of a business rules and compliance software engine created by Aussie developer, Haley.

Centrelink is one of several local government agencies and departments to use Haley’s Office Rules software to ensure Aussies get their correct entitlements from government.

Other users include the Department of Veterans’ Affairs, which implemented the system to help explain to veterans why they received a particular determination – rather than simply present them with an amount of money.

The software is said to have reduced appeals by veterans in relation to the amount of their benefit by up to 30 percent, according to Haley chief executive, Dominic O’Hanlon.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is central to the Haley software. Originally developed by graduate students from Australian National University (ANU) in Canberra, the AI lets users write business rules in natural language rather than in code.

“The AI can read a sentence, identify the nouns and verbs and then re-write it in multiple forms without writing any code,” O’Hanlon told iTnews.

The technology then maps the fastest path to a determination, according to O’Hanlon.

In a web-based environment, such as a self-service portal, this means it is capable of generating a series of questions and presenting them in a logical order to help make an online determination of whether someone is entitled to make a claim or receive a benefit.

“We can also take rules in English and present them in Spanish,” said O’Hanlon.

“The software can handle multiple languages, as well as grammatical translation and interpretation.”

The company currently is in the process of adding double-byte language capabilities to the AI engine.

It conducts research and development in Canberra, the United States and Manila.

Other uses for the software include locating orphan provisions and other holes in legislative documents.

Haley has undergone a series of rebrandings since its launch in 1989. At one time it was known as RuleBurst, following a management buy-out and delisting from the stock exchange in 2005.

O’Hanlon said it has grown three-fold in the last three years, and that half of revenues now come from overseas markets.

It is headquartered in Sydney and employs 115 people globally.

Haley maintains several OEM and systems integration partnerships with the likes of IBM, Accenture, Oracle and SAP.