The IBM Center for The Business of Government

It can help employees quickly analyze data by reading and interpreting information on documents faster than people can.

The IBM Center for The Business of Government and the Partnership for Public Service conducted a series of webinars with government leaders to discuss how they are using these technologies to improve both how they work internally and how they provide services externally.  These sessions highlighted real cases and lessons learned that can help all agencies understand how best to apply emerging technologies.

AI can increase operational efficiency and effectiveness, free employees of repetitive tasks, uncover new data insights, and enhance service delivery to customers. While they take advantage of these benefits, federal agencies must also manage real and perceived risks associated with AI to build trust in these technologies.

Human beings have been interested in intelligent automation as far back as ancient times, when Greeks believed an automated man made of bronze circled Crete several times a day to protect Europa, the mother of the island’s King Minos, from pirates and invaders. This myth from more than 2,000 years ago perhaps prophesized the vision people have today of relinquishing routine tasks to machines, so people can take on assignments that require creative thinking and high-level reasoning.

In hindsight, it is easy to identify Alexander Graham Bell’s invention of the telephone in the 1870s as an instrument of marvel, eventually connecting people worldwide. And of course, there is the internet, which, although it burst into the public realm less than 30 years ago, is a technology and service that few can envision living without, whether we understood that in the 1990s or not.

Given this significant milestone, the Center reinforces our ultimate mission: to assist public sector executives and managers in addressing real world problems with practical ideas and original thinking to improve government management and leadership. For almost two decades, the Center has supported leading researchers to identify trends, new ideas and best practices—crafting approaches that support government leaders in addressing mission delivery and management challenges with strategies and actions that promote efficiency and effectiveness.

The federal government can reduce costs while improving services by adapting private sector cost reduction strategies and technologies to achieve similar benefits in government. This objective is highlighted by a recent report, led by the Technology CEO Council (TCC), in which the IBM Center for The Business of Government participated.

Leaders who understand and can leverage effective management tools and practices are better prepared to execute on their priorities and see measurable, positive program results. The IBM Center for The Business of Government is committed to helping identify and distill the lessons learned from the past, identify current and new management initiatives and capacities that will be needed to address key challenges facing the country in this administration, and offer ideas on implementation.

The success of an administration can rise—and fall—based on its competence in managing the government. As history demonstrates, strong management can enable rapid and positive results, while management mistakes can derail important policy initiatives, erode public trust and undermine confidence in the government.