Get Started With Artificial Intelligence in Government
Leverage AI for enhanced government operations and better public service.
Governments are seeking clear pathways to navigate the complexities of AI adoption, distinguishing between “hype” and genuine opportunities for improving public sector efficiency, effectiveness, and outcomes. The challenges they face include:
- Knowing the practical implications of AI within public sector operations.
- Identifying specific AI applications that can enhance public service.
- Understanding which AI technologies are best suited for different government functions.
- Balancing investments in rapidly evolving AI technologies with public accountability.
Our Advice
Critical Insight
Recognizing and addressing these hurdles is key to be able to fully embrace the long-term benefits AI could bring to public service and governance. The hurdles include:
- Traditional, “siloed" governmental structures.
- Concerns over the implications of AI and emerging technologies.
- Limited understanding of the potential benefits of AI and automation in public service.
- Challenges in workforce transformation and the need for new skill sets.
- Financial limitations affecting the adoption and scaling of AI initiatives.
Impact and Result
Use this blueprint to understand what AI really means in practice and to get started with AI to harness its transformative power.
Give your AI purpose and select your AI proof-of-concept approach by following Info-Tech’s methodology:
- Explore the possibilities.
- Learn from peers and give your AI a purpose.
- Select your first AI PoC.
Get Started With Artificial Intelligence in Government
Leverage AI for enhanced government operations and better public service.
Analyst Perspective
Welcome to the fourth industrial revolution!
AI's rapid advancement allows for the intelligent execution of complex and high-performance tasks, such as improving public safety through predictive policing and optimizing healthcare through early disease detection.
Governments stand to benefit immensely from leveraging AI for strategic improvement. It is often projected that, within this decade, a significant portion of public sector organizations will have integrated AI technologies into their operations. Innovative government initiatives are already harnessing AI to enhance efficiency, serve citizens more effectively and efficiently, and make informed, data-driven policy decisions. The question for government bodies is not if but how quickly they can adapt to this transformative force that is reshaping our world.
Paul Chernousov
Research Director, Industry Info-Tech Research Group
Executive Summary
Artificial Intelligence Challenges
Governments are seeking clear pathways to navigate the complexities of AI adoption, distinguishing between “hype” and genuine opportunities for improving public sector efficiency, effectiveness, and outcomes. |
Common Obstacles
Recognizing and addressing these obstacles is key to being able to fully embrace the long-term benefits that AI could bring to public service and governance. |
Info-Tech’s Approach
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Info-Tech Insight
AI-driven data analysis uncovers unseen patterns and supports a responsive, data-informed public sector ecosystem, offering new avenues for innovation, efficiency, and enhanced citizen engagement.
AI will help governments meet their objectives
Don’t get left behind.
A significant majority of government leaders are actively exploring the application of generative AI in their operations, as shown in a 2023 report by FedScoop and Microsoft, called “Gauging the impact of Generative AI on Government.” The findings indicate that 75% of agencies have already established teams to assess the impact of Gen AI and plan to implement initial applications soon.
An overwhelming 84% of respondents indicated that their organizational leadership considers understanding the impact of Gen AI as a critical or important priority for agency operations.
AI Adoption Rates by the US Federal Government
Federal Chief Data Officers (CDOs) are leveraging AI technology to carry out their mission.
Source: Deloitte and Data Foundation, 2023
AI benefits are seen to outweigh the risks
71% of respondents from the same FedScoop and Microsoft survey (200 respondents), from the “Gauging the impact of Generative AI on Government” report, believe that the potential advantages of using Gen AI in their agency's operations outweigh the perceived risks.
Do the potential benefits of using generative AI in your agency’s operations outweigh the risks? Or do the risks outweigh the benefits?
Top Concerns for Generative AI Risks at Federal Organizations
Source: FedScoop, 2023
Governments must balance AI opportunities and risks
Real AI Struggles
Government departments and agencies are still grappling with fully realizing AI’s benefits. The reasons for this include a need for better understanding of when these technologies should and shouldn't be used, as well as concerns about potential risks and unintended consequences.
The potential advantages of employing Gen AI outweigh the perceived risks. To realize these advantages, launch measures such as:
- Establishing dedicated teams to assess the impact of gen AI.
- Prioritizing employee training.
- Developing flexible governance policies.
The challenge with adopting AI lies in understanding the intricate balance between opportunities and risks, and how AI will impact all levels of an organization, from senior executives to staff members, as well as services for citizens and the citizens themselves.
Opportunities
- Innovation and efficiency
- Cost efficiency and sustainability
- Transformation of services for citizens
Mitigation
- Government AI policy
- Administrative self-regulation
- Public education
Challenges
- Transparency and explainability
- Security issues
- “AI divide” risk
Source: FedScoop, 2023
The world is changing quickly – but it’s not too late to become part of the AI revolution
Don’t wait for the revolution to come to you.
AI is leading a new era of innovation in government. More than 60 countries have already created their own national AI strategy.
Importantly, most of these AI strategies include a dedicated program focused on public sector transformation. Consider:
- AI is driving a major shift toward digital transformation in governments, enhancing both the design and delivery of public services.
- AI can improve efficiency and effectiveness, as well as responsiveness to citizens’ needs. Governments can incorporate AI to automate tasks, make better policy decisions, and deliver personalized services.
- The adoption of AI in the public sector is not without challenges. It requires a strategic approach, balancing opportunities and risks, and fostering collaboration with new players in the ecosystem.
Source: OECD-OPSI, 2022
“More than anything else, our task is to put forth and carry out a compelling vision for how to use technology in a way that serves our people, protects our interests, and upholds our democratic values. It’s not enough to highlight the horrors of techno-authoritarianism ... We’ve also got to make the positive case for our own approach, and then we’ve got to deliver.”
Source: US Department of State, 2021
Executive Summary
Info-Tech’s Approach and Methodology
Know your context.
Know when AI is applicable. This is your first step in taking advantage of these revolutionary changes in predictive analytics.
Know your specific problem space. Although most marketing “hype” would have you believe that AI is something that will solve all your problems, this is not true. AI technology is, in fact, something that can help you solve a specific problem.
AI technologies are not always suitable in situations that involve great sensitivity or confidentiality (such as issues related to National Defense).
Learn from others.
Follow an approach based on use cases and the lessons learned by others to determine the direction you should take your department or agency on its AI journey.
Define your problem.
This blueprint will help you define the specific problems that your organization needs to solve and brainstorm how – and if – AI can help.
Choose your AI path.
Start small with a Proof of Concept based on your use cases, and prove the value of your AI as it grows.
Insight Breakdown
Data-driven AI enables the discovery of hidden structures and facilitates a dynamic data-adaptive ecosystem that can unleash opportunities for efficiency and innovation.
Insight 1: AI is not a magic bullet.
Instead, it is a tool for speeding up data-driven decision-making. A more appropriate description of current AI technology is data-enabled, automated, adaptive decision support. Use when appropriate.
Insight 2: Garbage in, garbage out” applies to AI.
AI technology has its foundations in the data that is provided to it. The large volume of data required for AI makes “garbage in, garbage out” more relevant today. Rich, relevant, accurate, and timely data from interconnected sources is essential for the effective use of AI and the accuracy of your predictive analytics. How good is your data? Are you ready for AI to rely on it?
Insight 3: Learn from your peers and early adopters.
Using an approach based on use cases, you can learn from the successes and failures of others to narrow down more quickly how AI can deliver the best results for your organization. AI is a rapidly evolving field, and there are many published use cases with documented value.
Insight 4: Start small to lay a solid foundation.
Start small with AI and then wash, rinse, repeat. Too many big projects have failed in the past. Keep in mind, though, that the real value will come from the widescale adoption of AI and, for that, you will need to create an AI strategy.
Insight 5: Give your AI a purpose.
Your AI strategy must align with the strategic goals and drivers of your department or agency. The key question you should be asking is not “What can AI technologies do?” but rather “What can AI technologies do for us?” or “How much would we benefit from AI if we were to invest in it?”
The US government is investing heavily in AI
The US government is focusing on AI development.
The United States ranks first in global government AI readiness. The United Kingdom ranks third, Canada fifth, and Australia twelfth (Oxford Insights, 2023).
US financial support for AI is increasing. In FY 2022, US nondefense agencies allocated a total of US$1.7 billion to AI research and development – up more than 200 percent from FY 2018. An even greater amount, US$1.8 billion, was requested for FY 2023. The Department of Defense requested US$1.1 billion for FY 2023, a 26.4 percent increase from the funding it received in FY 2022 (MeriTalk, 2023).
The United States has launched a strategic plan for AI. In 2023, the US Select Committee on AI published its "National Artificial Intelligence Research and Development Strategic Plan: 2023 Update," outlining its plan to drive progress toward responsible innovation and application of AI technology in the US government.
The US 2024 budget provides over US$3 billion across agencies to responsibly develop, test, procure, and integrate transformative AI applications across the federal government and support the implementation of the Administration’s Executive Order on the Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence (The White House, 2024).
Government CIOs see AI as an emerging technology. 73% of state CIOs identified AI, Gen AI, and machine learning (ML) as key emerging technologies for government operations, according to a 2023 survey by the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO).
About Info-Tech
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