Beyond Efficiency: Rebuilding Public Trust with AI

We’re living through a moment where trust in public services feels increasingly fragile. Generative AI is changing how information is created and shared, and behavioural data economies, where platforms profit from tracking and predicting our behaviour, are shaping what people see and believe. Disinformation spreads quickly, and emotionally charged content often drowns out nuance. For public services, this isn’t just a communications challenge, it’s a deeper question about how we show up, how we build trust, and how we stay true to our purpose.

AI brings risks, no doubt. It can generate convincing falsehoods at scale, and when those are amplified by algorithms designed to maximise engagement, public institutions can find themselves on the back foot. But AI is also an opportunity. If we use it well, it could help us re-personalise public service delivery. By automating the routine, rules-based tasks that take up so much time, we can free up civil servants to do the work that we often don't have time for: engaging with people, understanding system wide impacts, responding to needs with empathy, and building genuine relationships. That’s how we shift from treating people like case numbers to treating them like human beings. And that’s how we build trust not just through what we say, but through how we make people feel when they interact with public services.

The World Bank has made a similar case, arguing that AI should be used to enhance, not replace, human capabilities. They talk about the need for ethical frameworks, investment in digital skills, and a focus on human centred design. That resonates with me. It’s not about doing the same things faster; it’s about doing different things better.

To get there, we need to change the narrative. Too often, AI in public services is framed around cost savings how we can deliver the same with fewer resources. But that’s a limiting view. What if we asked instead: what else could we do with the resources we have? How could we use AI to create space for deeper engagement, better outcomes, and more personalised support?

If we can do that, if we can design services that feel human, responsive, and grounded in real relationships, then we start to build a kind of trust that disinformation will struggle to undermine. When someone’s experience of a public service is thoughtful and empathetic, it doesn’t match the cynical messages they might be seeing online. That lived experience becomes a quiet but powerful counter-narrative.

Of course, this only works if it’s built on a wholehearted commitment to transparency, privacy, and self-determination. We ask people to share so much of their data with us, often at times in their lives when they’re incredibly vulnerable. It’s absolutely right that we hold and process that information in line with what we’ve publicly committed to. GDPR isn’t just a legal framework, it’s a promise. And keeping that promise is central to maintaining trust.

So yes, AI is changing the game. But the future of public service delivery isn’t just digital. it’s human. If we stay focused on openness, ethics, and relationships, we can build a public sector that’s not only more efficient, but more trusted, more responsive, and more meaningful.