From errors in facial recognition to large-scale disinformation campaigns, the impacts of artificial intelligence (AI) “going bad” can be huge. But so can the positive effects of these transformative technologies. Ethical governance, with human oversight, can help governments realize the benefits and mitigate the risks. And by understanding the failures, we can know where to innovate.

Discussing this crucial topic with host Tim Smith is David Shrier, a futurist and Professor of Practice, AI & Innovation at Imperial College London. Also joining is Jeff Saviano, EY Global Emerging Technology, Strategy & Governance Leader and an appointed associate at Harvard University’s Safra Ethics Centre. 20 mins

Public sector organizations have been using artificial intelligence (AI) for longer than many people realize, to do things such as predict the weather and spot speeding drivers. Today, these technologies are helping organizations to operate more efficiently and personalize their customer service — and we’re still just scratching the surface of what they offer. 

Discussing AI’s history, current use and future potential with host Tim Smith is Rajiv Peter, CIO at the housing association Notting Hill Genesis. EY LLP Technology Consulting Partner Naveen Thomas also shares his insights. 17 mins

Innovative, reliable and secure technology can help grantmaking organizations target the right people, track fund flow, spot fraud and waste and measure impact. 

In our fourth episode of the series, host Tim Smith talks about how to harness the indisputable power of technology to improve grant management, with his guests Andrea Sampanis, Solutions and Services Lead, Grants Quality Service Management Office, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and Amy Fenstermacher, EY Americas Grants and Relief Funds Management Leader. 19 mins

How Cape Town became a world leader in water reduction

In this episode the Mayor of Cape Town, Geordin Hill-Lewis, tells Meghan Mills how averting “Day Zero” led to a new strategy for water resilience. 16 mins

Why collaboration and accountability are key to achieving climate goals

In the seventh episode of The City Citizen, Heather Taylor, CFO and Treasurer for the City of Toronto, talks to Meghan Mills about making sure her budget gets results. 14 mins

How creative thinking and bold action are transforming Port of Spain

With its rich cultural heritage, beautiful surroundings and thriving industries, Port of Spain has a lot to offer. But even in idyllic locations like Trinidad and Tobago, capital cities have challenges to address - including how to transition to a smart, sustainable future.

Mayor, Joel Martinez describes how he’s rejuvenating the city by building on its strengths and increasing civic pride. 10 mins

How Warsaw is becoming a sustainable city for all

For the last couple of decades, Warsaw has been facing challenges common to cities of its size, from climate change to social inclusion. More recently, its physical and cultural closeness to Ukraine has also put it on the front line of a migration crisis.

In this episode, the Deputy Mayor of Warsaw, Michał Olszewski, explains the initiatives used to tackle these challenges. 12 mins

How one city is creating partnerships to realize growth and climate goals.

Kate Gallego, Mayor of Phoenix, talks to Meghan Mills about Phoenix’s journey to become the most sustainable desert city in the US. 15 mins

How hosting the Olympics is helping a fast-growing city meet its needs.

With preparations underway for 2032 we are joined by Adrian Schrinner, Lord Mayor of Brisbane and John Kimlin, EY Partner, Oceania, Government and Health. 22 mins

How one city used leadership, culture and collaboration to drive change.

In this fascinating discussion we talk to two people brought together by the transformation of one city. The first is Peter Danielsson, (former) Major of Helsingborg, Sweden. The second, Gerald Babel-Sutter, is co-founder and CEO of Urban Future.  17 mins

How sustainable city projects can have a ripple effect beyond borders.

Sharing their vision for a city where people and the natural world thrive together we talk to Asli Pasinli, CEO of The World Wildlife Fund in Turkey and Mehmet Gulez, former Innovation and Markets Leader for EY Turkey.  15 mins

In this episode Kait Borsay talks to Liam Middleton, Head of Critical Energy Infrastructure & Commercial Projects for the Scottish Government and Philip Milne, EY Partner, Corporate Finance, Government & Transport about the opportunities and challenges of moving to a greener, fairer future in Scotland. 16 mins

The city of Paris has created a generative AI (GenAI) chatbot to make it easier for citizens to access social grants, while complementing — not replacing — the work of social workers.

Discussing this innovative solution with host Tim Smith are Victoria Louvet, Senior Product Owner and Project Manager at EY Fabernovel, and Jessica Chamba, EY Global Human Services Leader. 14 mins

In this episode we learn about “people plus digital” solutions to the childcare crisis.  Joining Kate are our guests Danielle Barnes, EY Americas Government and Public Sector Leader, and Justin Brown, Oklahoma Secretary of Human Services to explore how digital innovation can help . 19 mins

Kait Borsay leads a discussion on the huge value of tapping into neurodiverse talent for employees, employers, society and the world.  Joining us are Hiren Shukla, EY Global and Americas Neuro-Diverse Center of Excellence Leader; John Leonard, Deputy Executive Assistant Commissioner of the Office of Trade at U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP); and Rob Austin, Professor of Information Systems at Ivey Business School in Ontario, Canada. 29 mins

Learn how the Government of India created the world’s largest digital education platform, DIKSHA, to reduce learning poverty.  Host Kait Borsay is joined by Dr. Amarendra Behera, Joint Director, Central Institute of Education & Technology, National Council of Education Research and Training in the Ministry of Education, Government of India Shabnam Sinha, Lead Education Specialist at the World Bank in India Shankar Maruwada, Co-founder and CEO at EkStep Foundation in Bangalore.  15 mins

Our host Kait Borsay discusses the digital skills shortage in the public sector and how to tackle it with Thomas Beautyman, Deputy Director, Government Digital Capability at the UK Cabinet Office, Josie Cluer, Partner, People Advisory Services, Ernst & Young LLP, and Arnauld Bertrand, EY Global Government & Public Sector Consulting Leader.  15 mins

Learn how governments are harnessing cloud technology to deliver more efficient offerings.  To discuss this fascinating and fast changing topic we are joined by EY Partner Andrea Tonci in Rome and from Paris EY Global Government and Public Sector Consulting Leader Arnauld Bertrand.  17 mins

This time we focus on how public transport networks can be used as a tool for equity and improving citizens lives. Joining us are Angela Gibson, Head of Strategy and Foresight at the Toronto Transit Commission and Josh Colle, Senior Vice President EY, Cities, Transit and Infrastructure. 19 mins 

On this episode we look at how leadership in frontline public services can adapt to respond to rapid change. Our guests are Ian Thomas CBE, Chief Executive, Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames and Helen Sunderland, Partner Local Public Services EY UK&I. 26 mins

Our topic this time is the rapidly changing face of higher education and the key enablers needed to deliver digital transformation and innovative strategies in this sector. Sharing their expertise are Tim Hume, Chief Information Officer at Macquarie University in Australia and Catherine Friday, Global Education Lead for EY. 13 mins

In this first episode our focus is on digital transformation in government, including the implementation of strategy, and involving citizens in the design of services. Joining us to share unique insight into how they’re leading operational transformation are Chan Cheow Hoe, Chief Digital Technology Officer in the Singapore Government, and Benjamin Chiang, EY’s Asean and Singapore Government & Public Sector Leader. 16 mins

Innovation Unfolded is a Leading into Tomorrow mini-series exploring how innovation can unlock value across the public sector. In this episode, we look at how governments can connect citizens without leaving the disconnected behind. The answer: equality-centered design, AI technologies and a test-and-learn approach.

Joining host Tim Smith for the discussion are Karl Hoods CBE, a Group Chief Digital and Information Officer for the UK government, and Sheena Thompson, EY UK&I Digital and Emerging Technology Leader. 16 mins

Innovation Unfolded is a Leading into Tomorrow mini-series exploring how innovation is sparked and embedded, and how focusing on a few key areas can unlock value across the public sector. 

In this episode, EY’s Shalinder Bakshi and Pooja Warier Hamilton from Apolitical discuss the workforce challenges facing public sector organizations with host Tim Smith. They also share why identifying and developing core skills sets is crucial, along with allocating resources to goals and driving a culture of ongoing learning. 13 mins

Innovation Unfolded is a Leading into Tomorrow mini-series exploring how innovation is sparked and embedded, and how focusing on a few key areas can unlock value across the public sector. 

In this episode, we look at how data-driven tech can help local governments prevent issues like homelessness, not pay for them. Joining host Tim Smith for the discussion are John Littlemore of Maidstone Borough Council, Alex Butler of Citizens Advice and EY’s Helen Sunderland and Neil Sartorio. 13 mins

Innovation Unfolded is a Leading into Tomorrow mini-series exploring how innovation is sparked and embedded, and how focusing on a few key areas can unlock value across the public sector. 

In this episode, we consider the role of innovation in helping governments tackle the high demand for, and cost of, infrastructure projects. Joining host Tim Smith for the discussion are EY’s Jonas Groes and Chris Lewis, and Mikkel Hemmingsen, CEO of the Danish state-owned company Sund and Baelt.  13 mins

One of the biggest challenges in grant management is that the most critical targets of funding are hard-to-reach people in hard-to-reach places.

In this, the first episode of the series, our host Tim Smith leads a discussion on efficient grant allocation with Steve Fussell, who was Chief Administrator, Office of Organizational Excellence, Seminole County Government in Florida, during the COVID-19 pandemic, and Amy Fenstermacher, EY Americas Grants and Relief Funds Management Leader.  14 mins.

Successful grant programs demand a relentless focus on outcomes. Grant administrators must implement effective monitoring procedures and gather comprehensive information while grant recipients, on the other hand, want to enjoy a smooth customer journey.

In the second episode of the series, host Tim Smith talks outcomes with Michael Cooper, Senior Civil Servant, and Head of Defra’s Group Grants Hub, and Matt Wilson, EY EMEIA Grants and Relief Funds Management Leader.  14 mins    

Grant and relief fund programs operate in complex, dynamic ecosystems, with an ever-present risk of fraud, misallocation and waste. And nowhere is this truer than for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

In this episode Tim discusses how to address such complexity with Dr. Pradeep Kurukulasuriya, Director and Executive Coordinator of Environmental Finance at the United Nations Development Programme, Maryam Hussain, EY International Fraud and Corruption Investigator, and Simon Inglis, Leader of the EY Grants and Relief Funding Management Team. 16 mins

What can the periodic table, a kitchen pantry and AI tell you about innovation? You can find out by listening to this inspiring discussion about the almost limitless potential of AI and innovation. 

Join Mitra Taheri, a Professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and Chief Scientist at the Pacific Northwest National Lab and Amy Jones, the US Public Sector AI Lead for Ernst & Young LLP as they talk about the need for governments to encourage the widespread use of AI, as safely as possible, so innovation can flourish. 17 mins

How can governments help businesses realize the benefits of artificial intelligence (AI) while gaining the maximum value from these game-changing technologies themselves? By creating a thriving AI ecosystem that works for government, business and citizens.

In this episode, Kiren Kumar, Deputy CEO of Singapore’s Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), shares three steps to building such an ecosystem. He also gives examples of how the IMDA implements these steps, including by pre-approving AI solutions for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Manik Bhandari, EY Partner and AI and Data Leader for ASEAN, joins Kiren for this enlightening conversation. The big takeaway: Just get started and grasp the opportunities of AI. These technologies are going to be a huge augmentation to companies if they play it right. But if they don't start playing at all, they will be disrupted.

In the AI in Government mini-series, government and public sector innovators dive into the transformative potential of AI in the public sector. Listen in to discover the possibilities AI offers for a better, more connected society.  19 mins

How can universities balance their innovation culture with applying artificial intelligence (AI) in safe, compliant, ethical and effective ways? Our host Tim Smith speaks to Christine Burns, CIO at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Sydney, and Alison Cairns, EY Oceania Education Leader.  15 mins

In this episode, Dr Naveen Thomas PhD and Dr Harvey Lewis PhD, both Technology Consulting Partners at EY, discuss artificial intelligence (AI) past, present and future with host Tim Smith.

Their conversation covers everything from the first ever chatbot to why the future will be humans, AI and robots collaborating to solve society’s challenges. For governments, they recommend taking a “thinking fast and slow” approach. Fast: Get the basics right and experiment. And slow: Envision a future and plan how you’ll get there.

This is the first of three episodes in which Naveen and colleagues explore fast-changing AI technologies and how they could impact people in business and society. It’s part of the AI in Government mini-series, where government and public sector innovators dive into the transformative potential of AI in the public sector. Listen in to discover the possibilities AI offers for a better, more connected society. 20 mins

To effect real and wide-reaching change, government organizations need to get behind the big-ticket outcome of adopting artificial intelligence (AI): efficiency.

In this episode, EY Technology Consulting Partner Dr Naveen Thomas PhD and Alex Bennett, EY EMEIA Microsoft and AI Leader, tell host Tim Smith how people are currently using AI at work. They also discuss the role of muscle memory and the need for government organizations to build confidence and boost engagement through "disciplined freedom," hyperpersonalized communication and role modeling.

This is the second of three episodes in which Naveen and colleagues explore fast-changing AI technologies and how they could impact people in business and society. It’s part of the AI in Government mini-series, where government and public sector innovators dive into the transformative potential of AI in the public sector. Listen in to discover the possibilities AI offers for a better, more connected society. 19 mins

From raising literacy standards to eradicating diseases, artificial intelligence (AI) could transform society as we know it. But with these technologies evolving rapidly, it’s government’s job to continually test, measure and audit those they deploy. So they’re as accurate, fair and unbiased as possible.

That’s the main takeaway from this fascinating conversation between EY Technology Consulting Partner Dr Naveen Thomas PhD and Neil Bacon, EY Partner and Business Development Leader. In it, they share their insights, hopes and fears with host Tim Smith, and suggest action for governments to take.

This is the third of three episodes in which Naveen and colleagues explore fast-changing AI technologies and how they could impact people in business and society. It’s part of the AI in Government mini-series, where government and public sector innovators dive into the transformative potential of AI in the public sector. Listen in to discover the possibilities AI offers for a better, more connected society. 21 mins

In this episode, Oliver Jones, EY Global Geostrategy Leader, and Jan Kallmorgen, Senior Partner, EY Strategy and Transactions, explore how governments can manage geopolitical complexity with host Tim Smith.

They discuss the factors driving the current complexities and the unique role of governments as they both act in, and are affected by, that environment. They also suggest strategies for mitigating cyber and supply chain risk while encouraging future investment. And Oliver explains why, when it comes to sustainability, geopolitics could keep driving change for the better.

Government Risk Radar is a mini-series that provides expert insights and practical strategies to help government and public sector leaders tackle an evolving risk landscape. It accompanies the EY report on the top 10 risks for the sector in 2025, which you can download as a PDF or listen to in audio format here. 17 mins

How can governments keep their finances sustainable in a world of high public debt, rising interest rates and persistent inflation? By shifting their focus from inputs (expenditure) to impacts (public value) — and by viewing themselves as drivers of growth and potential growth.

That’s the big message of this episode, in which Mark MacDonald, EY Global Public Finance Management Leader, and Gregory Daco, EY-Parthenon Chief Economist, Ernst & Young LLP, discuss all things public money with host Tim Smith. You’ll also learn the three supply-side factors governments should focus on, and when increasing spending could be more effective than making cuts.

Government Risk Radar is a mini-series that provides expert insights and practical strategies to help government and public sector leaders tackle an evolving risk landscape. It accompanies the EY report on the top 10 risks for the sector in 2025, which you can download as a PDF or listen to in audio format here. 17 mins 

Take aging populations, add low birth rates, and you have a shrinking workforce and skills gaps that risk hampering economic growth.

How governments can help address these impacts is the topic of discussion in this episode, hosted by Tim Smith. Rosalin Acosta, National Practice Leader for Labor and Workforce Development, Ernst & Young LLP, and Dr. Carlo Chiattelli PhD, EY People Consulting Leader for EU Institutions, share insights from their geographies. They also discuss how aligning education better with workforce opportunities, as well as with artificial intelligence (AI), could help governments close the gap between supply and demand for labor.

Government Risk Radar is a mini-series that provides expert insights and practical strategies to help government and public sector leaders tackle an evolving risk landscape. It accompanies the EY report on the top 10 risks for the sector in 2025, which you can download as a PDF or listen to in audio format here. 24 mins

How can governments adopt digital technologies while regulating their use and supporting innovation?

That’s the question Permenthri Pillay, Partner, Business Consulting, EY Australia, and EY Regional Digital Government Leader, Oceania, and Thomas Erwin, EY EMEIA AI & Data Leader, address in this episode. They tell host Tim Smith about the complexities of digitalization for governments and the risks of falling behind. They also share positive examples of artificial intelligence (AI) governance and collaboration, and explain why, with budgets and workforces shrinking, investing in digital infrastructure is governments’ best bet.

Government Risk Radar is a mini-series that provides professional insights and practical strategies to help government and public sector leaders tackle an evolving risk landscape. It accompanies the EY report on the top 10 risks for the sector in 2025, which you can download as a PDF or listen to in audio format here. 22 mins

With climate change intensifying, bringing higher human and financial costs, governments must step up their efforts to both mitigate its risks and adapt to its impacts.

The challenges and opportunities this poses are the focus of this episode. Joining host Tim Smith are Dr. Matthew Bell, EY Global Leader of Climate Change and Sustainability Services, and Ruth Ahchow, EY Global Climate Change and Sustainability Services Leader for the Government and Public Sector.

Their discussion includes the benefits of closer working with the private sector, why government policies need to be long term and predictable, and the wide-reaching positive outcomes of decarbonizing fast for economies, communities and the environment. 

Government Risk Radar is a mini-series that provides expert insights and practical strategies to help government and public sector leaders tackle an evolving risk landscape. It accompanies the EY report on the top 10 risks for the sector in 2025, which you can download as a PDF or listen to in audio format here. 16 mins

In challenging economic times, preserving social cohesion isn’t only about supporting the vulnerable; it’s essential for maintaining peace and security. And as the final episode of our mini-series reveals, transparent leadership and inclusive policymaking play a vital role.

Joining host Tim Smith are Jessica Chamba, EY Global Human Services Leader, and Safia Rahemtulla, the EY Partner who leads Risk Consulting for Canada's Government and Public Sector practice. To build trust, they suggest governments involve citizens in decision-making, communicate progress clearly and think carefully about what they spend, and with whom, to deliver on their mandate.

Government Risk Radar is a mini-series that provides professional insights and practical strategies to help government and public sector leaders tackle an evolving risk landscape. It accompanies the EY report on the top 10 risks for the sector in 2025, which you can download as a PDF or listen to in audio format here. 24 mins

To listen to EY Government and Infrastructure audio reports follow this link: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/ey-government-and-infrastructure-audio-reports/id1789638494 

Governments should look for the best solution to a specific problem, not view AI as the answer to everything.  That’s one of the main lessons shared by Dr Laura Gilbert CBE, previously Director of the Incubator for AI at No 10 Downing Street. Laura tells Sheena Thompson, Government and Infrastructure AI Co-leader, how the Incubator built trust through “competency and intent”. That meant sharing code, evaluations and failures, along with use cases to show it was acting in citizens’ best interests.

The conversation also covers the ethical implications of LLMs that are trained on data informed by local cultural norms. And Laura shares her aim of using AI to make the experience of government more human.

This is the fourth episode of AI Pioneers, a miniseries featuring speakers from pioneering government organizations identified in EY’s data and AI reports. Listen in for practical lessons from peers who have successfully moved from ambition to impact – scaling AI to transform their organizations and how they serve citizens. 20 mins

At the South African Revenue Service (SARS), AI-powered fraud and risk detection have stopped 100 billion rand in impermissible refunds and recovered 20 billion rand in revenue by dismantling illicit schemes. SARS also uses third-party data to auto-assess almost six million personal income tax returns, with a 99% acceptance rate.

Carl Scholtz, Deputy Commissioner, Strategy Enablement and Modernisation at SARS, tells Thomas Erwin, EY Global Government and Infrastructure Co-leader, how his organization designs digital services so that “tax just happens”. It also combines experimentation with world-leading governance and an ethical-by-design approach – for example, testing AI bot responses for relevance rather than deterministic consistency. The North Star: making sure taxpayers and employees have a great experience.

This is the third episode of AI Pioneers, a miniseries featuring speakers from pioneering government organizations identified in EY’s data and AI reports. Listen in for practical lessons from peers who have successfully moved from ambition to impact – scaling AI to transform their organizations and how they serve citizens. 26 mins

For Shen Hwee Chua, Chief Data Officer at the Energy Market Authority in Singapore, the biggest hurdle to implementing a GenAI productivity tool has been human resistance.

As she tells Thomas Erwin, EY Global Government and Infrastructure AI Co-leader, hosting the organization’s GenAI platform on a government-approved cloud was key, as was democratizing access and skills. Codesigning the tool with important stakeholders and continually gathering their feedback gained buy-in. And automating the process of making documents machine-readable saved many hours of manual effort.

In future, Shen Hwee believes AI technologies will not only make governments more efficient but also allow them to collaborate more dynamically – across departments, agencies and borders.

This is the second episode of AI Pioneers, a miniseries featuring speakers from pioneering government organizations identified in EY’s data and AI reports. Listen in for practical lessons from peers who have successfully moved from ambition to impact – scaling AI to transform their organizations and how they serve citizens. 16 mins

Not only do over half of all Estonians use AI daily, but on average, government employees are more likely than private sector employees to do so (37% v 25%). 

In this episode, Ott Velsberg, Estonia’s Government Chief Data Officer, explains how mandatory training, role-specific competencies and positioning AI as a productivity tool have normalized its use across the public sector. He tells Thomas Erwin, EY Government and Infrastructure AI Co-leader, how the government has put real-world experimentation before drafting policy and reformed AI funding to support testing hypotheses, not delivering outcomes. And he sets out how being transparent about how data is used and algorithms work can help build citizen trust.

This is the first in a miniseries featuring speakers from pioneering government organizations.  22 mins

In the final episode of AI Pioneers, EY Global Government and Infrastructure AI Co-leaders Sheena Thompson and Thomas Erwin share their highlights from across the miniseries.

They identify four recurring themes:

1. Successful AI programs begin by understanding the problem, not the tool.
2. Adoption, productivity, and ROI depend on training your people and bringing them with you.
3. Radical transparency and giving citizens control earn public trust.
4. Standardized governance, built for scale, doesn’t block innovation; it operationalizes it.

Sheena and Thomas also provide a taste of the insights their guests shared under each theme. For more detail, dive into the other episodes.

This is the eighth episode of AI Pioneers, a miniseries featuring speakers from pioneering government organizations identified in EY data and AI reports. Listen in for practical lessons from peers who have successfully moved from ambition to impact – scaling AI to transform their organizations and how they serve citizens.  22 mins

In this episode, EY Global Government and Infrastructure Leaders, Thomas Erwin and Josie Cluer, discuss a key theme in EY data and AI reports: workforce engagement and capability. Josie shares some findings from global EY research:

• Less than half of government employees are seeing productivity benefits from AI, compared with over three quarters of employees in financial services.
• Skills are twice as effective as tools or mindset in helping employees realize productivity benefits from AI.
• The more training people do, the bigger the gains.

The discussion also covers the importance of change management. Josie cautions that while government should be ambitious about AI’s potential, moving fast without addressing employee concerns risks leaving people behind.

This is the seventh episode of AI Pioneers, a miniseries featuring insights from pioneering government organizations identified in EY data and AI reports. Listen in for practical lessons from peers who have successfully moved from ambition to impact – scaling AI to transform their organizations and how they serve citizens. 18 mins

From 10 use cases to almost 100 at the proof-of-concept stage or in production: the Île-de-France Region has scaled GenAI fast. Now, it’s accelerating its use of agentic AI to improve everything from employee productivity to the citizen experience.

In this episode, Chief Information and Technology Officer Achille Lerpenière tells Sheena Thompson, EY Government and Infrastructure AI Co-leader, how a hybrid operating model enabled this success. Encouraging employees to try out the technologies, rather than mandating their use, also built skills and trust. With Île-de-France now considering tools for governing and securing agentic AI, Achille highlights the need to prepare for what’s coming next – including new risks from quantum computing.

This is the sixth episode of AI Pioneers, a miniseries featuring speakers from pioneering government organizations identified in EY data and AI reports. Listen in for practical lessons from peers who have successfully moved from ambition to impact – scaling AI to transform their organizations and how they serve citizens.  14 mins

When the City of Amarillo, Texas, needed to service a rapidly growing population that couldn’t afford higher taxes, it was the catalyst for exploring how AI and automation could help.

As Chief Information Officer Rich Gagnon tells Sheena Thompson, EY Government and Infrastructure AI Co-leader, a key solution was creating a GenAI concierge, Emma, to handle website requests. But with a large multilingual population, and low initial levels of digital literacy, trust had to come first. That’s why establishing a clear digital dignity, privacy and transparency agenda, and co-designing and testing the tool with residents, were foundational steps.

Today, Emma reflects the language needs and usage preferences of the community while handling around a third of all service requests and deferring around US$1.8m a year in call-center hiring.

This is the fifth episode of AI Pioneers, a miniseries featuring speakers from pioneering government organizations identified in EY data and AI reports. Listen in for practical lessons from peers who have successfully moved from ambition to impact – scaling AI to transform their organizations and how they serve citizens.  17 mins