How the Texas DOT uses AI

How is the most important U.S. state transportation company planning to make use of synthetic intelligence? When the Texas Division of Transportation introduced in December a three-year strategic plan for implementing artificial intelligence throughout the company, it had recognized 230 potential use instances. 

AI “can essentially revolutionize what we’re doing and create that transformation within the transportation business,” Anh Selissen, chief data officer on the division, mentioned on a June 2 webinar on its plan hosted by the Eno Heart for Transportation.

The 2025-2027 plan units a highway map for the division to integrate advanced analytics and clever methods into its operations and transportation system. 

Among the many potential makes use of of AI, the division sees the know-how as a solution to prioritize infrastructure initiatives, handle budgets and contracts and keep away from conflicts with utilities when planning undertaking places. AI might additionally present determination assist for emergencies, comparable to via climate monitoring, figuring out one of the best evacuation routes and alerting and responding to roadway incidents and wrong-way drivers. 

The division additionally envisions a task for AI in workforce coaching and managing its automobile fleet. “Our subsequent step [in the process] can be bringing in a considerable amount of the visitors information so we are able to truly do some stronger AI analytics round visitors and congestion data from a stakeholder expertise,” Selissen mentioned. 

To date, the division is utilizing AI in 22 facets of its work, mentioned Darran Anderson, the division’s director of technique and innovation,  together with for real-time and predictive visitors information evaluation and crash detection. Layering AI on high of the division’s freeway digicam community is lowering incidence response time for emergencies or roadside help, he mentioned.

Selissen mentioned the division sees “hundreds of thousands of assaults” each day into its pc methods, making cybersecurity important for any AI implementation. “If a hacker will get into this method and principally permeates your community, it will be a world of harm on your group,” she mentioned. The division’s technique, as specified by its three-year plan, contains educating workers of the dangers and guaranteeing AI methods are designed, examined and deployed in ways in which guarantee safety.

The division’s tips embrace privateness protections together with checks and balances to make sure outcomes are unbiased and supply fairness throughout all customers. Selissen mentioned about AI, “You have to be taught it. You’ve received to determine its capability to be used, and also you’ve received to know the boundaries of what that use must be.” She beneficial attempting pilot applications and beginning with small duties.