Amazon’s Echo is a small cylinder with a seven-microphone array is powered by the Alexa intelligent personal assistant so users can interact with it via voice commands to control a wide variety of services ranging from music to smart home devices. (Photo: Amazon.com)
Alexa, what documents do I need to get a marriage license in Maricopa County?
Alexa, where is my courtroom?
Maricopa County is now using voice assistant technology to help the public navigate the Superior Court Clerk’s Office and access information and documents related to things like marriage licenses, passports and U.S. naturalization filings.
The technology, called NOVA, is the first of its kind, according to Maricopa County Chief Technology and Innovation Officer Richard McHattie. NOVA builds on the model of IBM Watson, an artificial intelligence program that can respond to natural language.
People can access the technology by downloading the Amazon Alexa app, available on the Apple App Store, Google Play and Android.
Equitable access to information
As tech literacy grows with the generations who’ve grown up holding iPhones, the Amazon Alexa skill will give the public easier, more immediate access to the information they’re searching for, McHattie said.
“Jeff Fine spearheaded this effort, particularly as a technological innovation,” McHattie said. “We’re very passionate about expanding access to justice. So this particular tool is just a means to achieve that.”
The first version of the technology is already available. It provides limited information about how to find paperwork for things such as marriage licenses and passports, McHattie said.
The second version is expected to be available by the end of the year, according to McHattie. It will allow users to ask NOVA about any information available on the Maricopa County County Clerk’s Office website.
The goal of NOVA is more than just efficiency, it’s also about equitable access to information,Clerk’s Office spokeswoman Tiarra Earls Haas said in an emailed statement.
“The apprehension and fear of the court system that people can experience, along with the challenges of not understanding how the systems work … can be a limiting factor in access to justice,” Earls Haas said.
She said there is a growing trend of people opting to represent themselves in civil and family court instead of paying an attorney. But she said individuals not experienced with the court system can miss important hearings or filing deadlines, and eventually have warrants issued for their arrest.
NOVA is expected to provide more a equitable justice system by allowing people to access court information without going to the physical office or relying on a computer, saving them time and money, Earls Haas said.
“Those in a population with less income and less means generally rely on their cellphones and actually have smart phones as their only means of connection to public services,” McHattie said.
As a downloadable skill for Amazon Alexa, NOVA’s access to the public is only limited by the space on one’s personal device.
McHattie said NOVA is not a technocratic band-aid to the inequity in the justice system system, but a real solution that will help many Arizonans access justice.
“We’re trying to do that by enabling as many means as possible for clients of every mean to engage with our services,” he said.
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