Artificial Intelligence and the Transformation of Public Administration: Policy Impact, Governance, and Ethical Tensions

Paper by Ofentse Tshiamo Mosala and Sibonelo Mpanza: “The incorporation of artificial intelligence (AI) within public administration (PA) marks a profound transformation of traditional governance. It carries the potential to enhance institutional efficiency, enable data-informed decision-making, and deepen citizen engagement. Drawing on secondary sources from leading peer-reviewed publications and policy reports, this study integrates the global trajectory of AI adoption in public governance. A narrative review, complemented by a bibliometric scan of prior work, identifies how AI applications manifest across three administrative spheres: internal operations, service delivery, and policymaking. The findings reveal significant opportunities, including the automation of administrative routines such as fraud detection through machine learning, the use of predictive analytics and conversational agents for citizen services, and data-driven policymaking informed by large-scale information systems. Yet, implementation remains burdened with institutional and ethical barriers, algorithmic bias, data privacy risks, and bureaucratic resistance to change being most prominent…(More)”.