AI in Government.: Impact of AI on state departments, AI efficiency, AI cost-saving

Patrick Dixon is a global keynote speaker on cybersecurity and AI - author of 19 books - here in conversation with Futurist Gerd Leonhard 

NEW AI BOOK IN BESTSELLER LIST FOR 12 MONTHs IN AIRPORTS GLOBALLY - WH SMITHS

WE NEED TO DISTINGUISH between government as in managing a country, which is about the civil service and ministerial departments, and government as in leading a nation, which is all about politics in a democracy, autocracy or dictatorship. (See previous chapter for wider use of AI in surveillance).

AI is already widely used by the civil service in most developed countries, supporting whoever is leading government. Key areas for AI will be developing policy options, modelling the impact of proposed policies, writing policy details and drafting legislation.

And at the end of this book is a proposed 10 Point Plan AI for governments, actions  and policy decisions to take now.

For the next five years, almost all such AI support activities will tend to be on separate systems, but by 2040 many government AI systems will be networked into one all-powerful, all-knowing AI colossus. This is despite inherent risks.

To some extent this is already happening across systems used by security services. So, for example, a security officer can access all of someone’s personal information relating to internet activity (searches, social media, purchases), location, phone logs, family and friends, employment, tax, immigration, banking, driving offences, criminal record, health records – plus other insights generated by AI-linked pattern recognition, predictive analytics. Such an entity will become a primary target for hostile countries to attack (and for ‘friendly’ countries to quietly probe).

Examples of how AI will be used by government

Treasury

• Model economic growth, including impact of AI
• Model impact of new tax proposals on economy
• Model government income and expenditure
• Assess economic risks – e.g. from AI itself
• Produce papers on reducing money laundering

Home Office

• Assess passport applications
• Process visas, measure security risks
• Process asylum and refugee applications

Education

• Write new syllabuses and write new teacher requirements
• Write new proposals for adult re-skilling

Defence

• Manage bidding, procurement
• Model impact of military commitments
• Produce war games scenarios

Foreign Office

• Write policy papers to guide relations with each country
• Write guidelines for diplomats while on foreign postings
• Write draft speeches for ambassadors

Trade and Industry

• Draft additions to anti-bribery legislation
• Model impact of subsidies for robotics
• Write policies to encourage foreign investment in UK-based AI

Department of Energy

• Model impact of replacing gas heating with green hydrogen
• Write new policies on decommissioning of nuclear reactors
• Model possible scenarios if nuclear fusion becomes more feasible

Department of Health

• Write national policies on recruitment of foreign-trained doctors
• Model impact of strikes by public sector workers
• Write proposals for faster drug approvals

* Dr Patrick Dixon is one of the world's best known keynote speakers on global trends, often described as Europe’s leading Futurist. Author of 19 books, he has advised over 400 of the world’s largest corporations, often sharing platforms with their CEOs at their most important global events. His clients include Google, Microsoft, IBM, Intel, LinkedIn and many of the world’s largest manufacturers as well as governments. Patrick is a cancer physician by first training and his first start-up company some decades years ago was an AI-simulator, using computers to talk to and diagnose patients. His website globalchange.com has had 15 million unique visitors with 9 million video views.

Daily Telegraph review (14 September UK): 

"If you need to acquire instant AI mastery in time for your next board meeting, Dixon’s your man. 

Dixon gives us plenty to think about: AI’s role in surveillance; AI’s role in intellectual freedom and copyright; AI’s role in warfare; AI’s role in human obsolescence – his exhaustive list runs to over two dozen chapters.

Business types will enjoy Dixon's meticulous lists and his willingness to argue both sides against the middle."

Read on - buy my new book NOW.  "How AI Will Change Your Life."

How AI will change your life - Contents of Book

Chapter Headings:

Part One: How AI Is Evolving

1 The Truth About Artificial Intelligence 

2 Super-Smart AI and a Reality Check 

Part Two: How AI Will Shape Our Future World

3 Workplace AI

4 Office Workers - impact of AI

5 Healthcare - how AI will drive better health

6 Pharma, Disease Prevention and Wellness - how AI will transform pharma

7 Education – in School and at College - AI challenges to education

8 Adult Education and ‘Truth’ - why AI will redefine "Truth"

9 Software Development - AI will help but less than many think

10 Film-making and Music - get ready for AI revolution

11 Search Engines, Social Media, Publishing and Art - massive AI impact

12 Marketing - most campaigns will be driven entirely by AI

13 Retail - AI will have huge impact on retail eg fashion

14 Travel and Leisure - multiple impacts of AI on airlines, auto industry etc

15 Relationships - relationships with AI bots, and impact of AI on human to human relationships

16 Food Industry - AI will drive greater efficiency

17 Satellites and Space Colonies - impossible without AI

18 Manufacturing, Logistics and Supply Chains - major benefits from AI

19 Construction and Cities - AI will transform construction and the built environment

20 Environment - AI will consume huge amounts of power but also enable sustainability initiatives

21 Pensions and Wealth Management - AI already controls most investment decisions

22 Corporate and Retail Banking, and Insurance - AI poses major threats but will deliver cost savings

23 Cybersecurity - greatest risk from AI right now

24 Surveillance - AI is every dictator's dream tech

25 Military and War - get ready for AI driven wars

26 Government - AI will enhance government and threaten democracy 

Part Three: How Should We Respond?

27 Ten Steps for Governments 

28 Twelve Steps for Individuals 

29 Ten Steps for Companies 

30 Postscript – A Story