Emerging Technology Key Priority For Government, Public Sector Despite Skills Shortages

Public sector executives are remaining positive about the value of their investments into digital transformation, despite challenges with talent, regulation and trust, a recent KPMG International study has found.

In a survey of public sector technology professionals as part of KPMG Global Tech Report 2024, 85% are prioritising emerging technologies over maintaining legacy ones, yet 66% believe they lack the talent they need to bring their digital transformation plans to life. Also, 45% said they are struggling to keep up with the pace of change, versus 54% of private sector respondents.

Overall, the new research shows a sign of increasing sophistication within public sector technology programmes, with the public sector benchmarking marginally higher than private sector peers on progress on XaaS, cybersecurity, Web3 and data and analytics strategies. However, when it comes to artificial intelligence and automation, only 28% reported progress.

The rate of progress with emerging technologies is also not consistent across all public sector entities. According to the study, there's a disparity where some government bodies are making quick advancements, whereas others find it challenging to reach their goals. Senior leaders in government express concerns that their advancement is beginning to level off and have revealed a gap in technology-specific skills or knowledge.

The urgency to adopt AI has pushed the emerging technology up the agenda in government departments, with 45% of respondents confirming they are experimenting with AI in controlled groups, and many expect to democratise their approach as they gain experience. Two-thirds of government technology leaders said they expect their government to invest in AI and automation within the next year.

Yet, there are various challenges in its adoption, including the trust, transparency, and regulation of these new technologies, as well as the lack of skilled professionals to develop, deploy and manage AI solutions.

Building public trust in AI is essential for its successful adoption and governments should be transparent about how it is used and ensure its decisions are fair and unbiased. Governments should also be the regulator of such technologies, yet the survey found that leaders in governments across the globe were only 8% more likely to say they see themselves as risk guardians when it comes to AI, than the overall sample.

According to the research, leaders are focusing on understanding how generative AI will impact productivity, where it will enable human capacity to be refocused onto more value-added tasks, and where it might influence service delivery.

Already, over two-thirds of the respondents said they are using AI to fill skill gaps (68% in public sector versus 73% overall respondents). However, further progress may be hampered by a lack of AI skills.