Försäkringskassan uses AI to secure data

Försäkringskassan Empowering Social Welfare

The Swedish Social Insurance Agency (Försäkringskassan in Swedish) is a government agency responsible for the management of social insurance programs. It plays a key role in determining who is eligible for social benefit payments and provides essential financial support during different stages in life. These payments include healthcare, parental benefits, sickness and disability compensation, unemployment benefits, and survivor’s benefits.

Path to AI Way of Working

Försäkringskassan leads the way in implementing digital solutions for Sweden’s citizens. Since 2017, it has used Artificial Intelligence (AI) to increase efficiency and legal security, and in 2019, Sogeti was chosen as a partner to further its AI program. During this time, Sogeti has developed a great relationship with Försäkringskassan and has partnered on several AI projects.

Ensuring Compliance with Sensitive Data

Försäkringskassan manages a massive flow of data, information, and communication – all of which must strictly adhere to regulatory and legal standards. This posed a significant challenge when testing the applications and systems as real customer data could not be used for testing. This was due to the highly sensitive nature of personal data, ranging from dental records to medical symptoms.

However, the conventional data generation methods which can be used to create test data could not capture the unique traits and nuances needed for a realistic dataset. Therefore, it was important for Försäkringskassan to find a solution that would enable efficient testing with accurate data, while ensuring quality and compliance in their operations.

Synthetic Data Solution Safeguarding Data Security

Together with Försäkringskassan, Sogeti developed a solution in the form of a scalable microservice powered by advanced machine learning algorithms. This solution generated tailored texts for various purposes, ensuring compliance with regulations by avoiding the use of sensitive production data. The primary objective was to utilize synthetic text for training AI models while upholding the highest standards of technical innovation and complying with data privacy.

To facilitate the use of data, some of which may be highly sensitive, the agency employs a method of safeguarding personal information by converting it into synthetic data. By doing so, Försäkringskassan ensures the excellence of its service offering, ultimately enhancing the well-being of citizens.
 
Using a type of model called Generative Adversarial Network (GAN), a sample of real data was fed into the model which is trained to learn the characteristics of the data. The model’s output is a generated synthetic dataset that closely matches the original data in terms of statistical similarity and distribution.

The generated data preserves all the properties, correlations, and characteristics of the original data without personal data being exposed. The solution was implemented in the existing production environment and integrated with other smart services.

All types of data could eventually be generated – from images and journals to documents and text files.

In addition to the synthetic data and its usefulness in testing, the solution can help mask text to anonymize data and create better conditions for developing new services and benefits using AI methods. For example, it could be used in training models for text classification, chatbot Q&A, and document generation..

I & Innovation Service Center (AISC) Delivering Results

Sogeti mapped the use cases in the innovation maturity model and set up an AI & Innovation Service Center (AISC) team. The AI Way-of-working model allowed for quick installation and implementation. Hackathons were used to gather ideas and develop different techniques.

Försäkringskassan was impressed by the speed of the implementation and installation work of the AISC. Overall, the following AI use cases were implemented:

• Text and image analysis
• Natural Language Processing (NLP)
• Sentiment analysis
• Generation of synthetic data
• GDPR compliance analysis

Below you will find a short video about the AI innovation at Försäkringskassan. Have a look!

AI-Enhanced Social Welfare

Försäkringskassan’s collaboration with Sogeti illustrates a remarkable success story in leveraging AI to transform public sector operations. Through innovative solutions like synthetic data generation and GANs, the agency achieved data security, scalability, and compliance. The rapid implementation of AI use cases showcased not only tangible results but a deeper understanding of AI’s transformative capabilities. This journey reinforces the potential of AI to empower social welfare agencies with efficient, secure, and forward-looking solutions.