By Roberta Cardoso dos Santos
The use of AI effectively helps automate tasks, such as analyzing and overseeing administrative contracts, making public servants’ time management more productive.
First, it is necessary to understand that AI is increasingly present in the proceedings of the Courts of Auditors.
In this context, technologies effectively help automate tasks, making public servants’ time management more productive. This can be seen from research by Agência Brasil, which reveals that, according to the TCU, Federal Public Administration bodies conduct about 60,000 tenders each year1. It is therefore clear that the greater the demand, the greater AI’s potential contribution.
In addition, the TCU has been using “robots” as tools to support its work, highlighting the importance of artificial intelligence in increasing the effectiveness of its analyses, especially in the broad and timely verification of millions of documents, with a view to detecting correlations and raising alerts, achieving an optimization that would not be possible without computer systems.2
In this context, the first “robot” used at the TCU was Alice (Analysis of Tenders and Notices), a tool that provides preventive and automated assessment of tenders, developed within the Ministry of Transparency, Oversight and Office of the Comptroller General.3
Therefore, regarding this discussion, it can be seen that the government needs to invest heavily in technology strategy and mechanisms in pursuit of greater accuracy and control over the acts of the Public Administration.
THE USE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN ADMINISTRATIVE CONTRACTS
First and foremost, it is worth discussing the use of AI in administrative contracts.
In the context of administrative contracts, AI offers several possibilities and can serve as a disruptive tool to improve oversight and control, through (i) automated document processing and data cross-checking systems that make it possible to verify whether there are impediments to participating in tenders; (ii) scenario prediction with recommendations; (iii) price research mechanisms that make it easier to detect overpricing and overbilling; and (iv) tools for drafting templates of administrative orders and decisions based on legislation and case law.4
In addition, the new Procurement Law opens a window of opportunity for using technological innovations in public procurement processes. Encouraging innovation is now considered one of the objectives of the tender process (art. 11, IV of the NLLC), which should preferably be carried out electronically, with digital acts (art. 12, VI, and 17, § 2 of the NLLC).5
One example is the implementation of ChatTCU, a virtual assistant developed with the Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service solution. Focused on internal use, the system is currently used by more than 1,400 users. The chat supports various tasks, such as document analysis, legal research, translation and administrative queries, for example.6
In its third version, ChatTCU is integrated with some TCU systems, using data, case law and knowledge from the Court’s administrative systems. As a result, this generative AI platform, exclusively for internal use at the TCU, connects institutional knowledge to the best AI engine on the market, supporting complex tasks under the control of public servants.7
Finally, it can be concluded that the use of technology helps in the oversight and control of public procurement, as can be seen from the progress and experiences at the TCU, for example. However, the lack of internet access in Brazil still poses major challenges, given the limitations of certain federative entities, especially municipalities, in making investments and effectively using technological tools.
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1 VALENTE, Jonas. Agência Brasil. Órgãos públicos usam inteligência artificial para combater corrupção. 2018. Available at: https://agenciabrasil.ebc.com.br/geral/noticia/2018-08/orgaos-publicos-usam-inteligencia-artificial-para-combater-corrupcao. Accessed on: 02/23/2024
2 COSTA, Marcos Bemquerer; BASTOS, Patrícia Reis Leitão. Alice, Monica, Adele, Sofia, Carina e Ágata: o uso da inteligência artificial pelo Tribunal de Contas da União. Controle Externo: Revista do Tribunal de Contas do Estado de Goiás, Belo Horizonte, v. 2, p. 13, 2020.
3 COSTA, Marcos Bemquerer; BASTOS, Patrícia Reis Leitão. Op. cit., p. 13.
4 OLIVEIRA, Rafael Carvalho Rezende. Fiscalização dos contratos administrativos e inovações tecnológicas: dos carimbos à inteligência artificial. 2023. Available at: https://www.migalhas.com.br/depeso/396071/fiscalizacao-dos-contratos-administrativos-e-inovacoes-tecnologicas. Accessed on: 02/23/2024
5 OLIVEIRA, Rafael Carvalho Rezende. Fiscalização dos contratos administrativos e inovações tecnológicas: dos carimbos à inteligência artificial. 2023. Available at: https://www.migalhas.com.br/depeso/396071/fiscalizacao-dos-contratos-administrativos-e-inovacoes-tecnologicas. Accessed on: 02/23/2024
6 SECOM TCU. Uso de inteligência artificial aprimora processos internos no Tribunal de Contas da União. 2024. Available at: Uso de inteligência artificial aprimora processos internos no Tribunal de Contas da União | Portal TCU. Accessed on: 04/23/2023
7 SECOM TCU. Uso de inteligência artificial aprimora processos internos no Tribunal de Contas da União. 2024. Available at: Uso de inteligência artificial aprimora processos internos no Tribunal de Contas da União | Portal TCU. Accessed on: 04/23/2023
COSTA, Marcos Bemquerer; BASTOS, Patrícia Reis Leitão. Alice, Monica, Adele, Sofia, Carina e Ágata: o uso da inteligência artificial pelo Tribunal de Contas da União. Controle Externo: Revista do Tribunal de Contas do Estado de Goiás, Belo Horizonte, v. 2, p. 11-34, 2020.
DESORDI, Danubia; DELLA BONA, Carla. A inteligência artificial e a eficiência na administração pública. Revista de Direito, v. 12, no. 2, p. 1-22, 2020.
OLIVEIRA, Rafael Carvalho Rezende. Fiscalização dos contratos administrativos e inovações tecnológicas: dos carimbos à inteligência artificial. 2023. Available at: https://www.migalhas.com.br/depeso/396071/fiscalizacao-dos-contratos-administrativos-e-inovacoes-tecnologicas. Accessed on: 02/23/2024
SECOM TCU. Uso de inteligência artificial aprimora processos internos no Tribunal de Contas da União. 2024. Available at: Uso de inteligência artificial aprimora processos internos no Tribunal de Contas da União | Portal TCU. Accessed on: 04/23/2023
VALENTE, Jonas. Agência Brasil. Órgãos públicos usam inteligência artificial para combater corrupção. 2018. Available at: https://agenciabrasil.ebc.com.br/geral/noticia/2018-08/orgaos-publicos-usam-inteligencia-artificial-para-combater-corrupcao. Accessed on: 02/23/2024
Article published by Migalhas.com (in Portuguese)
