Report: US Treasury Has Used AI to Catch $1B in Fraud This Year

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Facts

  • The US Dept. of the Treasury used artificial intelligence to recover $1B in check fraud during the 2024 fiscal year, as well as other types of fraud, bringing the total amount recovered to $4B, or six times that recovered last year. The figures were reported by CNN based on estimates shared by the Treasury.[1]
  • A Treasury official said the agency used AI to find 'hidden patterns' of fraud, though exactly how AI was used was not disclosed. This saved an additional $2.5B by preventing high-risk transactions and $500M from 'risk-based' screenings.[2][3]
  • While significant progress has been made for the Treasury, which processes an annual 1.4B payments worth $6.9T, a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report showed the government still loses between $233B and $521B in fraud every year.[4]
  • Alongside the Treasury, which said it still uses humans to make final approvals that label transactions as fraudulent, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) also used AI to recover $1.3B from wealthy taxpayers since late 2023.[2]
  • The IRS estimates that it's still owed roughly $496B in taxes from 2014-2016, which the GAO projected would grow to $688B by 2021.[2]
  • While the use of AI has expanded throughout both government agencies and private financial institutions, the Treasury warned that it could still have 'biases' against 'certain demographics in anti-fraud cases.'[1][4]

Sources: [1]CNN, [2]Al Jazeera, [3]NBC and [4]Gizmodo.

Narratives

  • Narrative A, as provided by CNN. While we must be cautious around these novel technologies, this news should excite every American taxpayer who wants their money well cared for and spent. With machine learning, AI can constantly improve its skills to detect patterns of fraud in milliseconds. We'll always need humans to ensure proper use, but with the help of AI, criminals should prepare for a hard road ahead — and taxpayers should rest assured that their contributions are well taken care of.
  • Narrative B, as provided by Project Syndicate. While the government offers nice platitudes about using AI for good while restraining its bad aspects, the truth is that the corporations that own these technologies also own the government. The US federal government, which played a significant role in funding AI development, is now handing it over to corporations to control every aspect of our lives. The interrelationship between the public sector and Silicon Valley's AI complex needs close scrutiny.

Predictions