TALKING

Challenges raised by growth of AI

Accenture ’ s report issued during the World Governments Summit 2024 , How Can Government Agencies Responsibly Navigate the AI Landscape to Implement High Impact Generative AI Solutions ?, shows that over the next three to five years , 99 % of public sector leaders believe AI-powered software and services will enhance innovation and creativity in their organisations as well as the resources needed to do so .

But the report also warns that technology ’ s ability to transform public services brings with it the responsibility to manage generative AI ethically , mitigating the risks of unreliable outputs and implicit biases , workforce displacement and productivity upskilling , among others , while ensuring confidentiality , security and adherence to regulations .

In the case of generative AI , public sector leaders are typically concerned with operational-level considerations , such as intellectual property rights , transparency , and data privacy .

Ramez T Shehadi , Public Sector Strategy , Accenture Global Lead

However , it is important for all governments – not just in the GCC – to consider the full breadth of challenges , including those faced by civilians and civil servants alike , who increasingly voice anxieties about employment and societal impact at large as labour demands shift away from highly-codified data-intensive industries and functions and our dependence on and exposure to technology and technological disruptions grow unabatedly . This was evident during the recent disputes in the US film industry , which suggest the widescale integration of generative AI into systems and societies will be far from smooth .

The key for governments is to maintain ongoing dialogue , ensure responsible AI by design , maintain human oversight in AI applications , and continue investing in people under the assumption that generative AI will augment human capabilities rather than solely replace jobs in their entirety .

Technology adoption

GCC governments are embracing digitalisation as part of their national visions . For instance , under We the UAE 2031 , which seeks to double the country ’ s GDP to AED 3 trillion over the next decade , the Emirates is building an advanced digital infrastructure to underpin a globally competitive digital economy .

Across the region , we see various platforms deployed to enable smart cities , digital public services and autonomous manufacturing , among other advances .

Other platform examples making GCC governments more future-ready include generative AI-powered chatbots , digital twins , and edge computing , among several others .

While chatbots have been around for some time , they have traditionally tended to frustrate customers due to their rigidity , mechanical engagement and topical limitations . The dawn of generative AI will change that , empowering chatbots to become helpful extensions of organisations and government entities .

In fact , in Accenture ’ s Technology Vision 2024 report , we predict that by 2025 , customers will be just as satisfied with chatbot agents as human agents and , in some cases , unable to readily tell the difference !

And by 2028 , we think major corporations will have proprietary chatbots to assist with knowledge management , research , and task completion . We estimate that this technology has the potential to impact 44 % of all working hours across industries , enable productivity enhancements across 900 different types of jobs and create $ 6 to $ 8 trillion in global economic value .

The story is similar in Saudi Arabia , where at least 97 % of government services , representing 6,000 services , have already been digitised .

Similarly , digital twins , which leverage AI , IoT , machine learning and data analytics , have a key role to play in enhancing future readiness by enabling

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