How Agencies Can Effectively Implement Artificial Intelligence

As the public sector adopts new technologies to improve operations and service delivery, artificial intelligence and machine learning offer agencies new potential for improving interaction with citizens and making better decisions. But implementing AI well requires a focus on sound technology management and attention to critical details. This week, the IBM Center for The Business of Government released a new report to help agencies understand effective practices in adopting AI and cognitive technologies: Delivering Artificial Intelligence in Government: Challenges and Opportunities, by Kevin Desouza, ASU Foundation Professor in the School of Public Affairs at Arizona State University. Desouza reviews recent progress made in applying artificial intelligence to public sector service provision, drawing on lessons learned from commercial experience as well as burgeoning cognitive computing activity by federal, state, local, and international governments. The report draws on this real-world experience to set forth a framework for agencies to plan, develop, and deploy AI systems. The author then puts forward a set of challenges for government leaders and innovators in this space, along with opportunities for agencies to act in addressing these challenges.