Flanders statistics agency to use AI to better understand civilian needs

Statistiek Vlaanderen, the regional Flanders statistics agency, is partnering up with Belgian artificial intelligence (AI) company Radix to build an AI-powered dashboard to better judge the needs and concerns of local citizens, according to a press release published by Radix on 9 June.

The tool will allow government agencies to gauge the reactions and concerns of citizens on social media using machine learning. In collaboration with Radix, the Flanders government will be able to use social media data in order to better understand public sentiment.

Ultimately, there are hopes that the data will complement the statistic agency’s other findings.

Big data

Analysing up to 50,000 tweets by Flemish residents every month, the dashboard will create digestible data on positive and negative sentiment surrounding events or government decisions.

“We are currently experimenting with this dashboard to determine how to offer the public maximum value and accuracy,” says Muchael Reusens, data science coordinator at Statistiek Vlaanderen.

“We are conducting several lines of research, such as population bias, annotation bias, and optimal machine learning models, to ensure that we are publishing the most accurate and unbiased statistics possible.”

The Flemish government looks forward to using this tool and creating new and interesting statistics to inform government decision-making.

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