WiDS Maastricht 2021 - Anne Fleur van Veenstra

AI in public policy: opportunities and challenges

The use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the public sector has matured over the last few years. The number of AI applications has increased, as have their effectiveness and impact, as applications move beyond pilots and prototypes into real world use in policy making. However, the use of AI in governmental processes is not without its risks, as demonstrated by a SyRI court ruling that the system is not compliant with human rights legislation. While the use of AI can be useful for making predictions or automating decision making, challenges remain regarding the availability of datasets, bias in data and the transparency and accountability of such decisions.

Therefore, it is useful to first undertake decision-making experiments in order to understand downstream opportunities and risks. Such experiments may also elicit how the use of these technologies impact public values, such as the requirements for AI formulated by the High-Level Expert Group on AI. Specific opportunities and challenges of the use of AI in the public sector were presented as well as the role of experiments to seizing opportunities and mitigate risks.

You can view the presentation here.

_{Dr. Anne Fleur van Veenstra is a Senior Scientist and the Director of Science Strategic Analysis and Policy at TNO. As a senior researcher, she has over fifteen years of experience in the fields of Digital Government, Public Administration and Information Systems. She is widely published on data-driven policy making, the societal impact of big and open data, emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence in public service delivery, and the impact of digitalization on organizations and governance. She also set up TNO's Policy Lab initiative, conducting experiments with data-driven policy making in collaboration with government organizations.}