- Emma helps out at the registry office
Hanau's Registry Office Gets Digital Support: An AI named Emma will soon assist employees in scanning thousands of family books and birth certificates, integrating them into a special software. Hanau, dubbed the "Brothers Grimm City," is reportedly the first in Hesse to use such an AI.
Frank Müsken, chairman of the Hesse Registry Officials Association, said he wasn't aware of any similar use cases. "Generally, administrations, including registry offices, are also suffering from a shortage of skilled workers," he explained. "Replacing vacant positions is becoming increasingly difficult."
Protecting Sensitive Data
"If functioning well, AI can certainly relieve registry offices of input tasks, allowing more focus on the legal assessment and verification of vital records," Müsken said. "However, the legal assessment should remain in human hands and not be replaced by technical solutions."
Hanau's city administration confirmed that human control over what AI can and cannot do remains paramount. Strict controls ensure data security and compliance with defined guidelines. Emma was developed by a company in Seeheim-Jugenheim (Darmstadt-Dieburg) and can be considered a "local" AI.
Electronic Register Entry
Paper-based register entries are converted into electronic register entries by Hanau's registry office employees. This is a legal requirement, as certificates can only be issued from an electronic register, and electronic data retrieval must be possible across different registry offices.
What Does Emma Do?
In Hanau's registry office, paper-based entries need to be manually scanned and processed for the electronic register. Many documents are renamed and moved to the electronic collective file for long-term, secure storage. This is where AI comes in.
"Emma first reads information from the documents to determine where they should be stored," the office explained. It then ensures that all subsequent registers are stored in the collective file and checks the electronic registers for family law allocations like parents. If any are missing, Emma adds them.
Further Applications Being Tested
The city emphasized that Emma is programmed to only perform tasks taught by humans and can only access applications for which access has been set up. Further applications are being tested, but the city isn't revealing details yet due to ongoing internal information and coordination processes. These are likely to involve repetitive processes in high volumes.
The Commission has adopted a hands-off approach in regards to Emma's operations, ensuring that human control over the AI's actions remains paramount to protect sensitive data. The Commission has recognized Emma's potential in easing input tasks for registry office employees, allowing them to focus on legal assessment and verification of vital records.
