GENIE

ABOUT THE PROJECT

A safe sandbox for Commonwealth employees to experiment with using Generative AI tools in their work. There are approximately 44,000 state employees in Massachusetts. Unlike publicly available AI tools such as, which train on the users data, GENIE is designed with the specific needs of state employees in mind. Its secure infrastructure ensures that sensitive information remains protected, enabling employees to explore and utilize AI technologies without compromising confidentiality or compliance requirements.

Impact: One student was hired full-time by Burnes following their co-op to be an AI engineer. The EOTSS team subsequently hired 8 co-ops as interns to work with the state.

Partner: Massachusetts Executive Office of Technology Services and Security

Status: Massachusetts has implemented a sandbox using the framework created by AI for Impact through GENIE. In December there was a soft rollout with 100 users who have access. Feedback has been positive based on a poll that was run in April, and the insights have been used to revise the tool. Agencies have started asking for use of the tool, so just recently for instance the Executive Office of Health and Human Services added over 30 people from their data team to start a community of practice. Early feedback has indicated users find the tool helpful for sharing knowledge and improving operations, and they especially like the multi-chat sandbox environment.

PARTNERS

Introduction to GENIE

The Problem with Current Lack of Government-AI integration 

In the fast-paced AI landscape, Commonwealth agencies, comprising employees with varying levels of technical proficiency, face significant barriers to safely accessing and effectively utilizing AI tools. This lack of access to AI tools prevents Commonwealth employees from being able to keep up with the latest technologies and optimize their day to day accordingly. It is imperative to have access to  AI tools that can enhance public sector operational efficiency, service delivery, and innovation. 

Overview of GENIE

GENIE is a secure, AI-driven platform designed to empower Commonwealth employees by streamlining workflows, automating repetitive tasks, and enhancing access to critical resources. Key use cases include simplifying document querying, optimizing day to day repetitive/time consuming tasks, and improving AI literacy within Commonwealth employees. With a focus on efficiency, security, and user experience, GENIE enables employees to focus on innovation and deliver better services to residents.

Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) leverages large language models (LLMs) to process text in innovative ways. While GenAI tools are available through both free and paid subscriptions, we built GENIE to go beyond generic tools by offering a secure, user-friendly experience tailored to specific grant applications. GENIE does not collect any of the users information and does not train on the data input into the model, making sure that the privacy of the sensitive nature of government data is protected. By leveraging a state-of-the-art LLM with a per-use cost model, GENIE ensures scalable, financially responsible access as usage grows.

GENIE is a free, public AI-assistant designed to streamline the efficiency within Commonwealth Employees work. Built on a customized Claude 3.5 Sonnet LLM, the tool incorporates advanced prompt engineering and integrates seamlessly with AWS services such as Kendra, Lambda, Bedrock, S3, and API Gateway. These components were then wrapped in a custom user interface to enable grant applicants to: 

• Chat with an AI assistant, upload sensitive documents securely. 
• Experiment and explore AI in a safe and secure environment, with tutorials and guided training. 
• Explore AI through model comparison. 
• Utilize task based, pre-engineered prompt for basic users, providing a more structured use of AI. 

Informed by User Research

GENIE’s development has been shaped by extensive user research, ensuring it meets the specific needs of Massachusetts state employees. The design incorporates feedback from employees at different technical levels, addressing challenges such as:

• Lack of technical expertise among beginner users.
• Security concerns with public AI tools.
• The need for intuitive features that minimize the learning curve.

By incorporating this feedback, GENIE is positioned to serve as a practical, impactful tool for government operations.

Current Work: GENIE’s Features

The GENIE homepage provides a centralized platform where users can:

• Access drag-and-drop document upload functionality.
• Explore video tutorials and other resources to guide their AI use.
• Navigate seamlessly between features like task-specific tools and document analysis.
• Enhanced accuracy for document querying

Prompt Enhancement
Ensures that GENIE interprets user queries accurately by refining and optimizing input prompts, enabling the tool to generate precise and relevant responses.

Document Upload Optimization
Provides beginner and intermediate users with an easy, intuitive way to upload documents directly into their workspace, streamlining document management.

Integrated Video Tutorials
Embeds video documentation directly into GENIE to guide new users, offering step-by-step tutorials for seamless onboarding and improved AI literacy.

Tone Customization
Allows users to select a specific tone (e.g., professional, friendly) for tasks, ensuring outputs align with the context and audience of their work.

Enhanced Error Handling
Redirects users to the appropriate GENIE section if they attempt to perform a task in the wrong workspace, improving usability and minimizing confusion.

Future Work

Going forward, AI for Impact would like to continue work with EOTSS to continue to enhance the Commonwealth’s access and integration within cutting edge-AI tools. There is further development that could be done to GENIE, to enhance GENIE’s customization and efficiency.  

As GENIE moves into production, there are some features that can continue to be improved and included after further testing with a greater number of users and agencies. 

Custom Tasks – Targeting customization within specific use cases of agencies of the Commonwealth:

The Custom Tasks feature empowers users to tailor GENIE to their specific daily workflows. By enabling users to design and configure tools that streamline routine tasks, this feature allows for optimized efficiency and productivity with just a simple prompt. It ensures a personalized experience that aligns with individual or team needs, making GENIE a versatile solution for a wide range of applications.

Metadata Tagging – Improving the accuracy of GENIE responses 

The Metadata Tagging feature enhances document management by automatically assigning relevant tags to uploaded files, such as summaries, authors, and other key details. This system ensures that when users upload multiple documents, the Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) engine can more accurately identify and select the most relevant document, improving the precision and efficiency of AI-driven responses.