Using AI to manage minimum income benefits and unemployment assistance
Opportunities, risks and possible policy directions
While means-tested benefits such as minimum income benefits (MIB) and unemployment
assistance (UA) are an essential safety net for low-income people and the unemployed,
incomplete take-up is the rule rather than the exception. Building on desk research,
open-ended surveys and semi-structured interviews, this paper investigates the opportunities
and risks of using artificial intelligence (AI) for managing these means-tested benefits.
This ranges from providing information to individuals, through determining eligibility
based on pre-determined statutory criteria and identifying undue payments, to notifying
individuals about their eligibility status. One of the key opportunities of using
AI for these purposes is that this may improve the timeliness and take-up of MIB and
UA. However, it may also lead to systematically biased eligibility assessments or
increase inequalities, amongst others. Finally, the paper explores potential policy
directions to help countries seize AI’s opportunities while addressing its risks,
when using it for MIB or UA management.