The Adoption of Artificial Intelligence in the Public Sector in Europe: Drivers, Features, and Impacts

This paper presents the findings of an online survey carried out as part of AI Watch, the European Commission knowledge service to monitor the development, uptake and impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) for Europe. The survey was addressed at practitioners of public administrations at central, regional, and local level and aimed to compile a collection of cases of AI-enabled solutions used by public sector administrations. It analyses the drivers, obstacles, opportunities, and influencing factors of AI adoption and use by European public sector administrations, and identifies the perceived impacts of AI-enabled solutions on the different beneficiaries/users of services provided by public sector administrations. Findings from 62 respondents show that there is a wide array of AI initiatives in the public sector in European Member States moving beyond the pilot stage, that there is lack of citizen involvement in the design of AI services, low digital literacy of employees using AI systems, and that the disrupting effect that AI is expected to have in the public sector is still not mirrored in concrete large-scale AI projects with wide impact on public affairs.