The Hanau registry office is getting digital support: an Artificial Intelligence (AI) named Emma will help the employees scan thousands of family books and birth certificates and integrate them into a special software in the future. According to the Professional Association of Hessian Registry Officers, the Brothers Grimm City is a pioneer in Hesse.
Frank Müsken, chairman of the association, says he is not aware of any other similar use. „In general, it can be said that administrations, including registry offices, are suffering from a shortage of skilled workers,“ he explains. Vacancies are becoming increasingly difficult to fill.
Protection of sensitive data
„If AI works well, it can certainly relieve registry offices of data entry tasks, allowing the focus to shift more towards the legal examination and verification of civil status cases due to time savings,“ explains the expert. „The legal examination should remain in human hands and not be replaced by technical solutions.“ According to the Hanau city administration, control over what the AI can and cannot do always remains in the hands of people. Strict controls ensure the security and protection of sensitive data and ensure that the Emma system operates only within defined guidelines and regulations.
Emma is a native of Hesse
Emma was developed by a company in Seeheim-Jugenheim in the Darmstadt-Dieburg district and can therefore be considered a Hessian.
Electronic registry entry
Paper-based registry entries are captured by the employees of the Hanau registry office and converted into an electronic registry entry. This is a legal requirement, as certificates may only be issued from an electronic register and electronic data retrieval must be possible among various registry offices.
What Emma can do
In the Hanau registry office, paper-based entries must be scanned manually and processed for the electronic registry. According to the city administration, a large number of documents are renamed and moved to the electronic collective file for permanent and secure storage. This is where the AI, Emma, comes into play. „Emma initially reads information from the documents to recognize where the document needs to be stored,“ the office said. Then, the AI ensures that all subsequently recorded entries are stored in the collective file. Additionally, Emma checks the electronic registers to see if family law assignments such as father and mother are entered. If these are missing, the AI adds them.
Further possible uses are being explored
Emma is programmed to only do what humans have taught her, the city emphasizes. The AI can only work in applications for which access has been set up. The city is now exploring further possible uses. The exact areas where these could be are not yet being revealed by the council, as internal information and coordination are not yet complete. However, these areas are expected to involve processes with a high volume of repetitive tasks that can be handled by the AI.