In a hackathon organised by the Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau (KNAB) and supported by grants from the European Economic Area (EEA), experts from Latvia and abroad prepared five proposals on how artificial intelligence can help identify or mitigate corruption risks in public procurements.
Public procurements are prone to high corruption risks. The potential for corrupt practices in public procurements is influenced by various factors, including the human factor, as officials can influence the conduct of the procurement procedure. Use of artificial intelligence is one of the solutions to make procurements more independent from subjective factors.
During the two-day hackathon organised by KNAB, experts from Latvia, Norway, and Iceland, representing the fields of public procurements, artificial intelligence, information technology, and data analytics, jointly searched for solutions based on artificial intelligence systems to identify or mitigate corruption risks in public procurements. During the hackathon, five expert groups made proposals tailored to the field of public procurements and offered solutions on how law enforcement and procurement monitoring authorities can strengthen procurement monitoring and promote public involvement in the field of public procurements.
KNAB Acting Deputy Director for the Strategy and Policy Planning Sandijs Vectēvs: “The hackathon demonstrated the power of collaboration in innovation. Participants developed meaningful solutions that can help improve transparency, harness the potential of artificial intelligence in the implementation and monitoring of public procurements, and promote fair competition. The prototypes prepared by the participants highlight the importance of technology in managing future risks and mitigating corruption risks.”
KNAB will evaluate the prototypes developed during the hackathon, as well as their feasibility and use in the field of public procurements.
The hackathon, which took place on 6 and 7 February in Sigulda, is an initiative funded by the Bilateral Cooperation Fund of the EEA Financial Mechanism 2014–2021 Programme “International Police Cooperation and Combating Crime”. The goal of the Fund is to strengthen bilateral cooperation between Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, and the EEA grant beneficiary countries.