Secretary of State and past Wash100 Award winner Antony Blinken said in a speech delivered recently at the Foreign Service Institute that the Department of State has sought to embrace different tools as part of a broader effort to ensure that U.S. diplomacy is “fit for purpose” to address the various challenges facing the country.
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How the State Department Has Incorporated Data
A key tool the agency has adopted is data. Blinken said that the State Department launched three years ago a strategy that would allow for the incorporation of more data into the agency’s work. Since then, State has undergone a hiring surge for dedicated data officers.
“Now, whether we’re designing our foreign assistance programs, responding to crises around the world, we’re doing so in a way that’s using more timely, data-informed insights to guide the decisions that we make,” Blinken explained.
Improving Passport and Visa Services With Technology
The agency has also taken advantage of technology to improve productivity in various areas, most notably in passport and visa services. The secretary of State touted the ability of Americans to renew their passports online, a service that has been successfully used by over 1 million people. He also spoke of the strengthening of the agency’s “ability to deliver visas for people who want to come to the United States and deliver blue books to Americans who want to be able to travel the world.”
“We’ve issued or renewed a record number of passports over the last year,” Blinken noted.
Adopting AI
The secretary went on to discuss how the State Department has become a leader in artificial intelligence adoption. He cited how the agency’s rollout of various AI tools, including a chatbot, has resulted in personnel saving time when carrying out different kinds of tasks, such as document translation, checking facts in reports and monitoring news and social media.
“Now, we’re just getting started using AI, but I can see a future that’s already with us to become not only more efficient, but more rigorous, more effective in our analysis, in our planning, and also freeing up all of our people to focus their time where they can have the most value added, the most impact, to do what’s really at the heart of their jobs,” Blinken said.