Emerging Topics in Digital Government
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ItemTruth or Dare? – How can we Influence the Adoption of Artificial Intelligence in Municipalities?( 2021-01-05)Artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming an increasingly important factor of everyday life. The progress of AI adoption continues to accelerate with increasing investments in AI techniques and applications worldwide. However, the use of AI is still not present in employee’s daily life of German municipalities. Since this technology has a promising potential that German municipalities can also take advantage of, it is important to facilitate the transition of municipalities to AI. For this reason, we have conducted semi-structured expert interviews in twelve German municipalities to examine perceived challenges of AI adoption from employee’s perspective. Using methods from Grounded Theory and Gioia we extended research regarding the Technology-Organization-Environment (TOE) framework. Our results proof six and identified four additional perceived challenges of AI adoption in municipalities. With these results, we are able to extend literature on the use of AI in the public sector introducing perceived challenges of AI adoption from employee’s perspective in municipalities extending the TOE Framework.
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ItemRelevance of Public Administrations: Visualization of Shifting Power Relations in Blockchain-Based Public Service Delivery( 2021-01-05)Power relations within the area of blockchain governance are complex by definition and a comprehensive analysis that links technological and institutional elements is missing to date. The research that is presented with this article focuses on the visualization of the shifting power relations with the introduction of blockchain. For this purpose, the analysis leverages an adjusted version of the multi-stakeholder influence mapping tool. The analysis considers the various stakeholders within the multi-layered blockchain technology stack and compares three fundamental blockchain scenarios, including public and private blockchain settings. The findings show that public administrations face indeed less power with the introduction of blockchain, while new stakeholders come into play who wield influence rather uncontrolled. Nonetheless, public administrations are not powerless overall and remain influential stakeholders. This paper concludes that blockchain governance is not as democratic as blockchain enthusiasts tend to argue and derives corresponding opportunities for further research.
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ItemChain Action - How Do Countries Add Value Through Digital Government?( 2021-01-05)This study examines how countries develop and benefit from Digital Government (DG). The literature proposes various conceptualizations of the value-adding logic of DG, but the benchmarking practice is not responding to such proposals. For instance, the United Nations’ E-Government Survey combines the readiness and uptake indicators and fails to cover any impact indicators; thus, its diagnostic value is limited. To overcome this limitation, we introduce a new assessment scheme based on the DG value chain concept and pursue the question: how do the world countries add value in this chain? Reassembling the UN’s e-Government Survey indicators and the World Bank’s Worldwide Governance Indicators, we examine how the 191 UN Member States converted their readiness into uptake and uptake into impact over the 2014-2018 period. The results rank the countries concerning their performance along the DG value chain, identify hotspots, and calculate the value
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ItemBusiness Model Canvas to Create and Capture AI-enabled Public Value( 2021-01-05)The compatibility between the business model and AI-enabled value creation is paramount for the sustainability of organizations. The public sector lags the private sector in the race to AI readiness and adoption. Although the concept of the business model for the public sector has previously been discussed, we found a lack of evidence for the process of adaption of the business model as a value creation and capture tool from commercial motives to public value motives. This paper adapts the conventional business model canvas for the public sector as it pertains to the design and development of AI systems. Employing a design-science research approach, we postulate five design principles that public agencies must follow to design and deploy AI-enabled public services.
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ItemBlockchain Framework in Digital Government for the Certification of Authenticity, Timestamping and Data Property( 2021-01-05)In an ever more digitized world where information and data are increasingly dematerialized, the question of how to certify intellectual property and define when a document has been created or modified without the presence of any third-party guarantor inevitably arises. This document proposes a decentralized method that, by exploiting blockchain technology and distributed peer-to-peer (P2P) networks, makes it possible to historicize information in such a way that it is not possible for a user to alter its dating, attribute ownership or modify it by impersonating the author. The data certification (document, image, film, data archive, etc.) takes place through the creation of an immutable relationship between the owner and the data. At the legal level, many countries are beginning to regulate blockchain technology so that it can be used in many areas, such as the production chain, the Internet of Things or Public Administration. In this paper we present a solution to promote digital government and greater transparency, through the use of a framework based on the Ethereum blockchain, smart contracts and a decentralized application.
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ItemArtificial Intelligence and Decision-Making: the question of Accountability( 2021-01-05)Public sector organizations literature has addressed the influence of AI on decision-making process, looking mainly at rationalization and efficiency. However, recent adoptions of AI have been challenged because of their discriminatory nature. As a result, questions emerged on the accountability of AI supported decision-making processes in the public sector. This research sheds light on how AI transforms decision-making processes in the public sector and hence on their accountability. The paper illustrates that AI adoptions lead to the emergency of techno-legal entanglements – assemblages – which might impact upon AI accountability. Building on the findings of some of the most controversial and discussed cases of AI adoption in the public sector – COMPAS in the US and UKVI in the UK – the paper makes the case for a new approach to AI supported public sector decision-making accountability.
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