The Partnership for Public Service said in a report released on Aug. 15 that the Federal government needs to make better use of AI, technology, and data to deliver better services for the public.
The nonprofit, nonpartisan organization said that while the Federal government has made progress in recent years to modernize its services, it still “lacks the technology and tech experts to keep up with a fast-paced world.”
“To meet public expectations of the digital era, agencies need to upgrade old IT systems so they can use emerging technology, including artificial intelligence, to make sense of customer data, analyze how government is performing, and deliver accessible and efficient services that meet the needs of a diverse public,” the report says.
The report points to the 2023 Government Accountability Office’s High Risk List, which reveals that the Federal government spends 80 percent of its annual $100 billion IT budget on maintaining existing IT investments, which includes outdated systems.
The report instead advises Federal agencies to invest in modern IT systems that can provide for the use of new, leading-edge technologies.
“Congress must work with Federal agencies to implement a long-term funding strategy to modernize badly outdated technology systems and strategically plan for future technological needs,” the report says. “Federal agencies and Congress should also collaborate to develop uniform rules around the responsible use of AI and other emerging technologies.”
The report also says that while agencies collect a lot of data, a lot of it often goes unused or is “housed in systems that cannot communicate with each other, hampering data sharing and data analytics.”
According to the report, this data is not widely accessible to agency leaders, members of Congress, and the public. Therefore, agencies are limited in their efforts to improve Federal services, and public distrust in government only grows.
“Top-performing organizations use data to improve results. For Federal agencies and Congress to do so, they need high-quality data that can be processed by new AI tools and machine-readable formats,” the report recommends. “That data must then be used to make informed policy decisions.”
Finally, the report stresses that the Federal government is behind on emerging tech and also lacks the necessary guidelines and processes to use AI safely.
“AI is a rapidly evolving technology, so it’s important that government use it thoughtfully. To do that, Congress and agencies must first develop guidelines for use that are fair and transparent,” the report advises. “Agencies also need to train and hire experts in this field to ensure AI tools are safe and meet their intended goals.”
These recommendations are just a few of the many included in the report. The Partnership for Public Service also outlines priorities to develop better government leaders, make it easier to hire and keep great public servants, hold poor performers accountable, and provide customer-friendly services to the people.
