Apolitical recently hosted an event on How to use AI tools in your work in government. It was intended to provide public servants with practical tips on how to build AI tools into their day-to-day work with confidence. Attendees heard from Yashwinie Shivanand, a visiting fellow at the Oxford Internet Institute, Santiago Garces, the Chief Information Officer for the City of Boston and Chantal Smith, a senior researcher at Exponential View focussing on AI and geopolitics.

We recommend watching the event recording to learn more about how to prompt AI or to discover which tools you should consider using that aren’t ChatGPT. If you want to chat with your peers about their use of AI, make sure to join the AI in government community. We recommend this thread on helping your team explore AI safely.

Using AI, Apolitical pulled out the key takeaways from the event. What emerged was a helpful framework any public servant eager to integrate AI into their workflows can use to guide them.

  1. AI is more of a decision-making assistant than a decision-maker. We should treat AI like a helpful colleague — keeping the human touch in the loop is important. Privacy and security concerns are not just checkboxes but essential aspects of our ethical responsibility in adopting AI in the public sector. — Yashwinie
  2. Finding the sweet spot between efficiency and compliance when using AI is important. If there are guidelines for using AI, you should adhere to them. But don’t let caution stop you from experimenting! — Santi
  3. AI can be an “extra brain” or an “extra pair of hands” in the room. You’ll get a lot out of AI if you imagine yourself having a trusty sidekick that helps you summarise lengthy documents and gain diverse perspectives. For public servants, it’s not just a tool; it can be an avenue for creativity and improvement. — Chantal
  4. Don’t forget about the fundamental principles of public service when using AI. Balance efficiency gains with ethical considerations, and don’t use information that can’t be shared publicly. — Yashwinie
  5. Try to stay informed without drowning in information overload. Get your information about AI from trusted news sources. Sandboxes that provide public servants with a safe space to experiment with AI tools will help foster creativity and learning. — Chantal
  6. Be open and honest about your use of AI. To integrate AI into government workflows, we need to be transparent about when it’s used. Always disclose it! — Santi

Where are some places you can get a quick win out of AI use? Start by looking at your team’s workflows and asking yourself: Where can we save a bit of time? Here’s where to start:

  1. Use AI to write a quick first draft of something you’re working on
  2. Use AI to summarise a lot of information
  3. Use AI to analyse a PDF or some publicly available data

Experimenting with AI can help enhance your productivity in government. But don’t forget about rules and regulations — they exist for a reason.

If you have any questions or ideas, head to the AI in government community, or leave a comment below.

👋 You can write an article like this one! Share your thoughts with a community of public servants. Learn more

(Image Credit: Unsplash)