How will newer entrants to the public service learn and professionally develop in a world of generative AI? In playing with ChatGPT and now some of the GPT agents, some interesting questions arise about what’s going to happen to a lot of the work currently done. While I’m not going to say all our jobs… Continue reading Will generative AI disadvantage new starters?
Category: Digital
Why generative AI feels significant
If government is an information industry, what might generative AI tools mean for it? Playing with ChatGPT Over the past few weeks I, like many many others, have been playing with Open AI’s ChatGPT. Much of this has been playful such as: But then with some public servant friends, I started to play with it… Continue reading Why generative AI feels significant
Privacy – an indefensible privilege?
In my experience, privacy is very much a privilege. Privacy is there until it is not – whether by chance, by choice, or by coincidence. Whether the gaze that sees us is that of the media (social or otherwise), the state, or even just circumstance, privacy can be abruptly withdrawn. For me this realisation came… Continue reading Privacy – an indefensible privilege?
Digital Nuance
Is there/can there be room for nuance in digital systems? In my experience as a public servant, there’s often a lot of attention paid to how the private sector needs certainty. Of course the flipside of that, which I don’t think is as accepted or as recognised, is that the public sector often likes/requires flexibility.… Continue reading Digital Nuance
Musings on the Digital Revolution (or eleven thoughts on what digital transformation might mean for the public service) – pt 4
(Pt 3 can be found here.) 10. Digital allows for, and legitimises, different information preferences “The medium is the message.” Digital allows information to be presented and represented in a huge variety of ways. Information production is experiencing exponential rates of growth. YouTube and Instagram are indicators of the appetite for information in visual form.… Continue reading Musings on the Digital Revolution (or eleven thoughts on what digital transformation might mean for the public service) – pt 4
Musings on the Digital Revolution (or eleven thoughts on what digital transformation might mean for the public service) – pt 3
(Part 2 can be found here) 7. Digital innovation begets more digital innovation, but who approved it? Innovation is an evolving practice. It is an exponential technology – it builds upon what has gone before. Each wave allows for new options. Digital innovation is different to industrial innovation. It is a faster, more iterative practice.… Continue reading Musings on the Digital Revolution (or eleven thoughts on what digital transformation might mean for the public service) – pt 3
Musings on the Digital Revolution (or eleven thoughts on what digital transformation might mean for the public service) – pt 2
(Part 2 – Part 1 can be found here.) 4. Digital is both convergent and fragmented Siloed bureaucracy is ill-suited to cross-cutting issues that are experienced differently by fragmenting identities. The digital world is one of convergence – issues are no longer easily categorised or separated, and hard divides become blurred. Services/products, users/providers, businesses/citizens –… Continue reading Musings on the Digital Revolution (or eleven thoughts on what digital transformation might mean for the public service) – pt 2
Musings on the Digital Revolution (or eleven thoughts on what digital transformation might mean for the public service)
“We are experiencing a digital revolution. Revolutions are comprehensive. They affect all parts of the system.” This was a key insight that I have been reflecting on since I heard it on 12 November 2014. That was when I attended Innovating the Public Sector: from Ideas to Impact, an OECD conference on public sector innovation,… Continue reading Musings on the Digital Revolution (or eleven thoughts on what digital transformation might mean for the public service)
Musings on an Internet of (Living) Things
We’re beginning to see the Internet of Things and the potential changes that will be begotten by ubiquitous and interconnected sensors tied to everyday objects. To what extent might that extend to connecting actual living things? Recently some colleagues and I discussed the idea of an Internet of Living Things – a widespread connecting of living organisms… Continue reading Musings on an Internet of (Living) Things