From Potential to Practice: Using Responsible AI to Deliver Better Public Services - Arlene Williams & Clay Bates - Episode 192

What I'll start with is AI is everywhere.

This we know.

Every sector is talking about its potential.

Every government is feeling that pressure to act.

But potential doesn't actually solve the services, improve services on its own.

What matters is how that potential shows up in real work.

real decisions, and the real outcomes of people for the people that we serve in the public service.

So today we want to talk about that shift from potential to practice and what it looks like when government uses AI responsibly, deliberately, and in service of better public outcomes.

So this slide is really about intent.

So not whether or not government can use AI.

I think you heard from our deputy ministers before that that's very much going to be part of our practice in the future, but it's all really important about how we actually choose to use AI.

In the public sector, how we use AI directly impacts trust.

And in the public sector currency, our currency is public trust.

So it's not about automation first.

I think you heard about from the three deputies from the prior session that the point isn't about replacing people or rushing to automate.

It's really about understanding the work that people do, the decisions that need to be taken and where judgment is involved and where AI can actually help to public servants to do their jobs differently and better.

AI supports our decisions, but it doesn't actually make them for us.

So it's not speed without accountability.

So yes, AI can help us move faster, but government can't move fast without responsibility.

So every use of AI needs clear responsibility, clear ownership, transparency, and the ability for us to explain our outcomes.

If we can't stand behind that decision, then we shouldn't actually automate the decision.

So it's not technology without people either.

So AI is only useful if people understand how to use it.

and whether or not they can trust it and how they challenge it.

So these are just where we're focusing inside the public service right now.