Dominican Republic: A Smart Government with Taína

Author:

Melissa Michelle Muñoz Suro  - Associate Editor at iGlobal.Lawyer

Abstract

The Dominican Republic is laying the groundwork for a unique AI model in Latin America—an artificial intelligence system designed by, with, and for its people. Currently, the country operates an omnichannel system for delivering public services, comprising three pillars: Punto GOB (in-person service), gob.do (digital platform), and 462 (phone line). This system allows citizens to access services through various channels but faces data fragmentation, response times, and limited personalisation challenges.

Under the National Artificial Intelligence Strategy (ENIA), the Dominican Republic is developing Taína, a groundbreaking project that aims to create an intelligent government system using Machine Learning (ML). This model will streamline citizen interactions, enabling faster and more efficient access to public services across multiple channels—voice, text, mobile apps, and web portals.

Beyond delivering personalised services, Taína will also provide valuable data insights to inform evidence-based decision-making within the government. This system represents a collaborative effort, engaging government, academia, the private sector, and citizens to transform public service delivery fundamentally.

CiudadanIA: Building Taína with Dominican Voices

Developing a ML model like Taína presents significant challenges, especially in a context with limited access to high-quality, structured data. This is where CiudadanIA takes the lead—a project that collects and processes data directly from Dominican citizens.

This effort plays a crucial role in training an AI model that speaks Spanish and captures the richness and nuances of Dominican Spanish. The team collects all data from interactions rather than personal citizen information, adhering to strict privacy protocols and complying with established safeguards to protect user confidentiality.

CiudadanIA is a joint initiative involving the government, private sector, and academia. The Government Office of Information and Communication Technologies (OGTIC) leads the project, working closely with academic institutions and private sector partners to ensure its success.

The primary objective of CiudadanIA is to create a robust database by gathering high-quality data to train Taína. In technical terms, the team develops diverse and balanced datasets to build a robust model that minimises bias and enhances the system’s ability to generate accurate, culturally relevant responses.

Data Collection and Collaboration

A key challenge in building a ML model is the need for more consumable data for AI training. Much of the information available within government institutions is scattered, outdated, or poorly structured. To address this, CiudadanIA employs a collaborative approach, involving citizens and academia in data collection and curation.

Citizen participation plays a central role in this process.

CiudadanIA will establish smart data collection points nationwide, where citizens can interact with systems designed to gather linguistic and contextual data. These interactions help train Taína and empower citizens as co-creators, ensuring the system reflects their needs and communication styles.

Simultaneously, Dominican universities provide the technical rigour to design and implement data collection and analysis methodologies. Local academic institutions work closely with OGTIC to ensure that the data collected is representative and adheres to high privacy and ethical standards.

Building the Machine Learning (ML) Model

The development of Taína follows a structured approach, beginning with hybrid data collection. Passive data collection captures information automatically from interactions with the current omnichannel platforms, while active collection involves gathering data through surveys, questionnaires, and collection points. This ensures the model starts with a robust and diverse dataset.

Once collected, the data undergo rigorous preprocessing and cleaning, including tokenisation and normalisation, to ensure consistency and quality. The team trains test models, or Proofs of Concept (PoC), to validate the system's initial capabilities.

These preliminary models help identify areas for improvement and optimise performance.

Model evaluation is an ongoing process focusing on metrics such as accuracy and coverage. As iterations progress, the model improves its responsiveness and personalisation.

Ultimately, Taína will be integrated into the omnichannel system, providing all citizens with a unified and optimised experience.

Innovation with a Regional Perspective

The Dominican Republic’s approach addresses local challenges while laying the foundation for a replicable model in other Spanish-speaking countries. By tailoring a ML model to Dominican Spanish, the Dominican Republic establishes itself as a regional leader in AI solutions that promote inclusion and technological sovereignty.

Through Taína and CiudadanIA, the Dominican Republic is making significant strides toward digital transformation, adopting solutions that modernise citizen interactions while building internal capacity. This initiative demonstrates how a nation can lead in technological innovation while reinforcing its cultural and linguistic identity.

The development of Taína is an ambitious project, but its potential impact could be transformative for public services in the region.

Bibliography

Blog It Noticias, 2024. "Dominican Republic leads in AI: Successful results of the pioneering National Artificial Intelligence Strategy in Central America".

Available at: https://blogitnoticias.com/republica-dominicana-lidera-en-ia-presentan-exitosos-resultados-de-la-estrategia-nacional-de-inteligencia-artificial-pionera-en-centroamerica/

Diario Libre, 2023. "Government launches AI strategy and introduces Taína, technology to assist citizens in accessing public services".

Available at: https://www.diariolibre.com/actualidad/nacional/2023/10/11/gobierno-presenta-estrategia-de-inteligencia artificial/2489157

Government Office of Information and Communication Technologies (OGTIC), 2023. "National Artificial Intelligence Strategy (ENIA) ". Official document outlining the country’s strategy for integrating AI across sectors.

Available at: https://innovacionrd.gob.do/enia/

Listín Diario, 2024. "Results of the National Artificial Intelligence Strategy presented". Report on the first year of ENIA implementation.

Available at: https://listindiario.com/la-republica/educacion/20241015/presentados-resultados-estrategia-nacional-inteligencia-artificial_829489.html

Presidency of the Dominican Republic, 2023. Decree No. 498-23: Creation of the National Artificial Intelligence Strategy (ENIA). Presidential decree formalizing the ENIA's implementation.

Available at: https://ogtic.gob.do/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Decreto-498-23.pdf