Government agencies often get painted with the “bureaucracy” brush, with the word meaning “excessively complicated administrative procedure.” There is an innovation emerging that can help change people’s perceptions around how governments work, by delivering efficiency, speed and accuracy. In other words, helping them do more of what matters, which is serving citizens.

That innovation is generative AI.

I know. The unbridled power of generative AI seems like something that governments should worry about—and definitely figure out how to regulate. And while regulation will play a big role in how generative AI becomes woven into the fabric of our world, there are two cases I would like to make for embracing rather than worrying or resisting this seismic change.

First, as an organization (organism) of the future put it, “Resistance is futile.” We are on the path toward an AI-pervasive world. At a minimum, large language models that currently run ChatGPT and other generative AI tools will be integrated into the apps and software we use every day, beyond that, organizations of all sizes and across every field will find ways to gain efficiencies using generative AI in its most basic form or tailored to meet the needs of their organizations.

Second, as mentioned at the start, generative AI can be an enormously helpful tool for streamlining the necessary bureaucracy that is part of almost every government agency. Imagine being able to process thousands of applications for, say, government assistance. All the applications could be sorted quickly and placed into queues based on meeting eligibility, not meeting it, or having incomplete information. Each queue would also have a response letter or email drafted suited to the disposition of the applications. A human, rather than having to go through each application one by one, could sort and review each queue quickly, check the draft response to make sure it’s appropriate, and get responses out in a fraction of the time it would take before generative AI.

On the citizen’s side, generative AI offers the ability to answer people’s natural language queries in targeted, easily understandable terms. And it can guide people through steps needed to apply for a permit or file a form. Even a simple application of generative AI can improve responsiveness and citizen services based on an agency’s existing knowledge base.

When I speak to people about generative AI—and I have been doing a lot of that lately based on my role researching and working with emerging technologies for Avanade—the first question they usually ask is, “Should I be experimenting with generative AI?” (The answer is yes.) The next question is “What can I be doing with gen AI?” Right now, we’re seeing five use case areas:

• Knowledge management. Gen AI can find information across unstructured data to boost team productivity.
• Field Asset Diagnostics, Permitting and Inspections. Permits, compliance inspections and critical infrastructure maintenance processes can be automated intelligently to reduce costs and improve service level agreements
• Document and image generation. Everyone from writers to engineers can look to gen AI to get the creative juices flowing.
• Customer service. Imagine if chatbot and voice-activated customer service actually felt and worked more like a human interaction.
• IT. Accelerating code development.

In each of these use cases, it’s important to keep humans in the loop and with ultimate agency. The term AI-first gets thrown around a lot these days, but I prefer AI-pervasive and people-first. People at all levels—from school children to international agencies—are already talking about how we maintain a human-centric perspective in an AI-heavy world. We’ll continue to have these discussions as AI is a living system, ever evolving. We need to make sure we’re doing what matters to govern this immense power judiciously and thoughtfully.

We’ve touched on the questions of “if” and “why”, so let’s talk about how an organization can get started in experimenting with generative AI.

First, set the right foundation. Work with AI in a modular and scalable way. Start simple in areas where you may already have capabilities—like an existing chatbot—and quality, diverse data.

Next, remember that people are still vital. AI is a co-pilot, not an unmanned drone. Think about change enablement to help users evolve generated concepts through refinements, enhancements, and, ultimately, approvals.

Finally, be thoughtful in leadership, governance, and responsible AI ambassadors. Find a balance between ambition and a robust approach to transparency. Communication with customers, partners, and employees around risk, limits and uncertainties will reduce resistance. AI ambassadors can help provide feedback for responsible, rapid, iterative retraining of the model.

If you’re ready to get started, Avanade has a portfolio of generative AI strategy workshops, with options ranging from a 2-hour workshop to a 6-week strategy Proof of Concept engagement. We also have two new services to expedite business value derived from AI while cultivating an AI-first mindset:

• The Avanade AI Organizational Readiness Framework provides a comprehensive assessment of your business and IT areas.
• The Avanade Quick Start services addresses the crucial requirement for responsible AI governance, enabling leaders to translate corporate values into guidelines and practices for governing the ethical use of AI.

Governments and public service agencies undoubtedly have a big role to play in the future of generative AI. I am hopeful that savvy technology leaders will also embrace the big role that generative AI can play in the future of government.

Learn more about how Avanade is enabling client to build value with generative AI and to innovate citizen services with its digital solutions.