Risk Management in the AI Era: Navigating the Opportunities and Challenges of AI Tools in the Public Sector

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has moved into the mainstream of businesses and government.

A person writes in a notebook while a digital illustration of a robotic hand and the letters 'AI' are superimposed. The setting suggests a blend of technology and creativity, highlighting artificial intelligence. The image uses a cool, futuristic color palette with blue and white tones. The scene conveys innovation and the intersection of human and machine intelligence.

By

Justin B. Bullock

Associate Professor Affiliate of Governance at the Evans School of Governance

University of Washington jbull14@uw.edu

Matthew M. Young

Assistant Professor of Public Administration and International Affairs

Syracuse University myoung10@syr.edu

Business leaders are rushing to take advantages of the benefits that can be brought to a wide array of industries to help increase productivity. Government leaders are also moving forward, but with appropriate caution. When considering the use and application of AI related technologies, government leaders weigh different factors than their private sector counterparts. Whether it is deploying self-driving electric trolleys in a city or retrofitting city streetlights with sensors to make them “smarter,” these leaders must address issues of accountability, transparency, ethics, equity, common good, effectiveness, efficiency, managerial capacity, and political legitimacy.

The report authors put forth a threefold strategy to assist government leaders and public managers with how best to approach using AI, which includes:

  • reviews of prior federal government studies on the use and application of AI. These reports reflect a number of important issues for agencies and stakeholders to consider as they begin incorporating AI; the studies also highlight the government’s broad risk management approach to AI
  • a risk management framework for when and how government can and should consider using AI tools, how to use these tools, and which organizational tasks and decisions may benefit from the use of AI
  • case studies of two innovative uses of AI tools to help manage risks from local governments: the City of Syracuse, New York, and the City of Bryan, Texas.

The authors close with a list of practical guidelines for government action in using AI tools to improve the overall quality of governance, while incorporating similar tools into their overall risk management strategy.

Check out the infographic of the report.

Read the article in Government Computer News, "Squeezing the risk out of government AI projects."

Risk Management in the AI Era