According to Gartner, governments are particularly exploring GenAI to add value for both internal and external audiences with:
- Text generation. The ability to draft communications in multiple forms to address multiple target audiences.
- Text summarization. Summarizing long or complex information sources to support improved decision making, for example by case workers.
- Question answering. Whether for customer service queries or to provide guidance for employees, and even accelerate ramping up employees into new roles.
Of the many ways you might measure the potential value of AI on governments, one statistic jumps out. Gartner says the 2027 spend on AI software by government is projected to reach USD41.8 billion by 2027. That tops all other industry sectors, including banking which is predicted at coming in second at USD28.2 billion.
Clearly, AI is not going away as governments look to take advantage of these new technologies. I am inspired that agencies across the globe are not hedging their bets with AI, but instead are taking thoughtful steps to explore AI and invest to apply the technology to move beyond the problems that have plagued their progress for so many years.
We all know government is highly risk adverse and generally prefers to lag behind the private sector when it comes to adopting new IT trends. And for good reason.
So why is this AI wave turning out differently?
To me there are significant drivers influencing the change in government behavior.
- Pressure to conform government services with those consumers already use and like. Governments can no longer wave off changing how they work. The ground swell of demands from constituents will only continue to grow. And, like their counterparts in industry, government has to keep their customers happy -- with a little pressure from budget approvers and law makers. (That's a joke, it's actually a lot of pressure!)
- Technology has changed! To be fair, government has been building web services that meet accessibility standards for years, and most have deployed mobile apps and conduct usability tests to measure customer satisfaction. But AI is a technology that empowers agencies to do so much more than was previously possible.
- Competition for Talent. There are not enough AI experts to go around. Once the government benefits packages were highly sought-after, but now talented programmers and data scientists can almost name their own price. Governments are having to compete for younger people with skillsets needed to operate modern AI-based solutions, as well as those who will be business users of these AI applications.
- Cost. The old skillsets that kept the government services running are outdated and are too expensive to maintain. It's not untypical for an IT shop to spend more than 2/3 of their IT budget on Operations and Maintenance (O&M). Not only are knowledgeable resources to keep these systems running becoming scarce, but even the Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) don't want to upkeep these old technologies. It's finally agreed it is time to move onto modern platforms.
I'm sure there are more reasons, but you get the gist.
When I started working in the government, I learned the ropes from Kennedy-era hires. For them it was all about service. It's still all about service!
The promise of AI for governments is to empower their employees to excel at their jobs!
