[Paper Review] Generative AI is already widespread in the public sector

Jonathan Bright, Florence E. Enock+4 more|arXiv (Cornell University)|Jan 2, 2024

Technology Use by Older Adults10 citations

TL;DR

The study surveys 938 UK public-sector professionals to show that Generative AI use is already widespread, with notable optimism about productivity gains but limited guidance and accountability clarity.

ABSTRACT

Generative AI has the potential to transform how public services are delivered by enhancing productivity and reducing time spent on bureaucracy. Furthermore, unlike other types of artificial intelligence, it is a technology that has quickly become widely available for bottom-up adoption: essentially anyone can decide to make use of it in their day to day work. But to what extent is generative AI already in use in the public sector? Our survey of 938 public service professionals within the UK (covering education, health, social work and emergency services) seeks to answer this question. We find that use of generative AI systems is already widespread: 45% of respondents were aware of generative AI usage within their area of work, while 22% actively use a generative AI system. Public sector professionals were positive about both current use of the technology and its potential to enhance their efficiency and reduce bureaucratic workload in the future. For example, those working in the NHS thought that time spent on bureaucracy could drop from 50% to 30% if generative AI was properly exploited, an equivalent of one day per week (an enormous potential impact). Our survey also found a high amount of trust (61%) around generative AI outputs, and a low fear of replacement (16%). While respondents were optimistic overall, areas of concern included feeling like the UK is missing out on opportunities to use AI to improve public services (76%), and only a minority of respondents (32%) felt like there was clear guidance on generative AI usage in their workplaces. In other words, it is clear that generative AI is already transforming the public sector, but uptake is happening in a disorganised fashion without clear guidelines. The UK's public sector urgently needs to develop more systematic methods for taking advantage of the technology.

Motivation & Objective

• Assess the current awareness and use of Generative AI in UK public services.
• Quantify which public-sector professions have adopted Generative AI and at what rates.
• Evaluate perceived productivity gains and concerns related to GenAI adoption.
• Identify the availability of guidance and clarity on accountability for GenAI outputs.

Proposed method

• Online survey of 938 UK public-sector professionals conducted in November 2023 via Qualtrics.
• Recruitment through Prolific with participants from NHS, emergency services, social care, schools, and universities.
• Classification of AI types into Generative, Decision-Support, and Perceptive; focus on GenAI usage and perceptions.
• Statistical analysis using descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, and one-way ANOVA in R.

Figure 1: AI in the public sector

Experimental results

Research questions

• RQ1 What is the extent of awareness and actual use of Generative AI among public sector workers?
• RQ2 Which sectors or professions show higher GenAI uptake and how does usage relate to demographics?
• RQ3 What productivity impacts do workers associate with GenAI, particularly in reducing bureaucratic time?
• RQ4 What are the perceived risks, guidance, and accountability concerns surrounding GenAI use in the workplace?

Key findings

• GenAI awareness: 45% of respondents were aware of GenAI use in their area of work; 22% actively used a GenAI system.
• Uptake varies by sector, with Universities 36.4% and Schools 30.5% reporting higher GenAI use, while NHS 17%, Emergency Services 12%, and Social Care 11% report lower uptake.
• Among GenAI users (n=209), 132 (63%) used ChatGPT; Universities (26.7%) and Schools (19.6%) are more likely to report ChatGPT use.
• Respondents using GenAI perceived productivity gains and reduced bureaucracy, with NHS users estimating bureaucracy could drop from 50% to 30% of time.
• Overall trust in GenAI outputs among users is high (61% of users); 16% fear replacement of their job.
• Many respondents (76%) feel the UK is missing opportunities to use AI for public services, and only 32% feel there is clear guidance on GenAI use in their workplaces.

Figure 2: AI and productivity