3.1 | The public servant as AI ‘consumer’

1. Introduction

In the last section, you learned about the risks of using AI in government before taking stock of the potential benefits.

In this section, we’ll consider the big picture of ‘AI and government’ before zooming in to focus on ‘AI and you’. In this lesson, you’ll learn about the different roles of ‘government’ when it comes to AI before having an opportunity to get hands-on with some AI tools for yourself.

2. The different roles of government

When it comes to understanding how AI impacts you and your government, it’s essential to know the different roles government plays. Let’s take a look at the government as both ‘regulator’ and ‘consumer’ of AI and consider the differences.

Both of these topics are worthy of an entire course in their own right. We’re only going to scratch the surface here so that you can understand where you — the public servant — fit in.

2.1 The government as AI ‘regulator’

As a regulator, the government's role is to ensure that AI is used safely and ethically by society. This means considering the potential risks (like you learned in Lesson 2.1) to set standards for how AI is developed and used and enforce laws and regulations.

In this role, the government’s primary responsibility is to protect the public interest.

2.2 The government as ‘consumer’

As a consumer, the government aims to leverage AI to boost efficiency and maximise its resources. This means evaluating AI’s potential benefits, such as eliminating time-consuming manual tasks and streamlining processes (like you learned in Lesson 2.2).

In this role, the government is primarily concerned with getting the most out of AI systems.

3. You, the public servant

Now, let’s hone in on you and your role. For the sake of this exercise, we will take the weight of regulating and policymaking off your shoulders and focus on your day-to-day engagement with AI tools.

In Lesson 2.3, you learned that you’ve already taken the first step towards responsibly using AI in government by developing a realistic understanding of what AI is and what it can do. The second step is for you to start using AI tools to experience what it can and can’t do first-hand.

Why is it important for you to get hands-on? Because AI is rapidly changing the way governments operate and deliver services:

Civil servants must be empowered to digitally transform institutions, understand data collection concerns and propose policies that take advantage of the opportunities offered by new technologies, while navigating the many risks and challenges they can bring.1 – Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO

3.1 You, the AI tester

To mitigate risks, develop trust and gain experience, it is essential to explore AI tools and safely make mistakes: this is called ‘sandboxing’. Sandboxing is a valuable way for public servants to generate and develop innovative ideas.

A ‘sandbox’ is a protective virtual environment where public servants can put AI tools to the test in ways that don’t impact the public or threaten government’s existing systems and resources. Several governments — including Estonia, Lithuania and Finland — have included sandboxes in their national AI strategies.2

We’ve created a personal sandbox for you to test some AI tools outside of your government role. In the next part of this lesson, you’ll take part in some light AI activities that you can try at home or on your personal smartphone.

These activities are designed as a starting point for you to learn about generative AI tools. By getting hands-on, you’ll develop a realistic understanding of what they can and can’t do.

Start by choosing the activity you feel most comfortable with and curious about, and take it from there.

Activities

Here are a series of prompts that you can use to explore a free and widely available generative AI tool like ChatGPT or Google Bard.

Once you’ve settled on a generative AI tool to use, follow any steps you need to create a personal account, select the prompt you’d like to try first, then copy, paste and press enter to see the results.

Feel free to get creative. You can edit these prompts or use them to inspire your own:

1. Get a simple answer to a complicated question

“Explain quantum mechanics to me like I’m a 4-year-old.”

1. Plan a dream holiday

“Plan a holiday to [add your destination, plus any particular details you’d like to be included in the answer].”

1. Receive feedback from a famous person

“Criticise the following text in the style of Apple Inc. co-founder Steve Jobs: [copy and paste your last social media post or a paragraph from this lesson].”

1. Commission a poem about yourself

“Write a poem about how difficult it is to be a public servant called [your name].”

Unhappy with the result? Try the prompt again and make it more specific:

“Write a [haiku, sonnet, limerick, ode etc.] about how difficult it is to be a public servant called [your name].”

1. Have a virtual chat

Start a conversation and see where it goes. “Hello, how are you today? I’m feeling [tired from learning so much about AI].”

Before navigating to the end of the lesson, share the most amusing or impressive AI-generated results with your fellow learners on this course.

4. Conclusion

In this lesson, you’ve learned about the different roles governments and public servants play in relation to AI innovations. You also learned the importance of exploring AI tools before using them in a government context.

This lesson may have been fun, but you might have noticed some of AI’s limitations. Perhaps you even started wondering if AI is really that ‘intelligent’ after all? In the next lesson, you’ll learn about the difference between artificial and human intelligence and why this matters.

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This is the logged out version of a short course in Apolitical’s Government AI Campus. To access all interactive elements and download a certificate of completion, sign up for free.