How do France Travail advisors use artificial intelligence?

How does France Travail, the administration responsible for supporting job seekers, use artificial intelligence (AI)? This Thursday, June 5, France Travail organized a videoconference for the press on the use of this technology within its services, a few weeks after criticism from La Quadrature du Net. The digital rights association denounced the use by the former Pôle emploi of automated robots to "control" job seekers.

For Samir Amellal, deputy director general in charge of technology at France Travail, generative AI tools, far from "dehumanizing," allow "on the contrary to humanize the relationship" between the agent and the job seeker. "This allows us to put the computer aside and finally have access to information (...) in natural language (while) focusing on the relationship with job seekers," he emphasized.

Six tools currently deployed or tested

France Travail, which has been working on this subject since 2018, explains that it is "part of the field, of the advisors." "We tried to understand (...) how AI could meet the needs (of the agents, editor's note)," said Sylvain Poirier, director in charge of AI at France Travail. From there, "we highlighted several issues. The first is to be able to design AI solutions that free up their time" – time that will be "reinvested in their human expertise. The second challenge is to be able to facilitate access to data (…) in natural language," added the manager. The agent would no longer have to search for a job seeker's data in a given application: they would simply have to ask the question to the AI tool to get answers.

Concretely, the following tools are currently deployed or being tested by agents:

• ChatFT, a sort of ChatGPT "secured by France Travail's infrastructure", currently "used by approximately 40,000 agents". Initially developed on OpenAI's GPT 3.5, the tool will be switched to the French gem Mistral next June. The latter is mainly used for editorial assistance and summarization.
• Match FT is currently being tested in the Pays de la Loire and Centre Val de Loire regions. It is a "tool that allows advisors to facilitate the pre-selection of candidates with a conversation (SMS) guided (...) by generative artificial intelligence". The tool, which will not be mandatory – it will still be possible to use a human advisor – could be rolled out across France by the end of the year. Concretely, job offers are sent directly by SMS to job seekers who answer (or not) questions.
• Neo: this interface currently being tested will allow France Travail advisors to communicate in natural language with the information systems of this administration.
• ChatFT écoute, a demonstrator soon to be tested in agencies, which "aims to strengthen the quality of listening during interviews" between agents and job seekers. The AI tool will capture information during the appointment and provide the advisor with a summary "to facilitate the entry of information into the information system".
• QualifFT which will allow, within the site: mesevenementsemplois, to identify personalized events.
• A mobile app, intended for young people on youth employment contracts, will allow them to declare their actions by voice.

A real time saver for agents?

Have these different tools, deployed or tested, really allowed agents to save time and if so, how much? France Travail acknowledges that on this point, the administration "does not necessarily have quantified elements". But it claims that, according to "an internal barometer", this technology has been adopted by many advisors. 56% of them would already use it in their professional activities, while 63% of agents believe that these tools have a positive impact on their activities.

France Travail also reported the imminent signing of a contract with Mistral during the Vivatech trade show, which will take place next week, and which will allow it to "meet our sovereignty challenges" – a partnership with the French company had already been announced last February. The former Pôle emploi also explained that it will soon be relying on infrastructure from the French cloud provider OVHCloud.

Asked specifically about the robots monitoring job seekers denounced by the Quadrature du Net association, France Travail simply replied that it was not a generative AI, but "an algorithm used in the employment monitoring aspect", without providing further details.