Governments across the globe are beginning to take advantage of the benefits of Artificial Intelligence, with the majority having AI strategies in place. South Africa has started this journey to fully embrace the age of AI, with a number of state institutions beginning to have the AI conversation and identifying opportunities where AI can assist in driving the country towards the 4IR.
As the country’s President pushes forward with the 4IR agenda, leveraging the power of AI and digital technologies within various government institutions becomes imperative. AI can unlock exponential value in areas such as revenue collection, forecasting, planning, risk sensing and procurement by reducing risk, identifying fraud and increasing revenue generation.
A government agency’s readiness for AI is not simply a question of preparing to buy and install new technology. The transformative nature of AI typically calls for preparation across multiple critical areas. To capture AI’s potential to create value, government organisations will need a plan to retool the relevant existing processes, upskill or hire key staff, refine approaches toward partnership, and develop the necessary data and technical infrastructure to deploy these advanced technologies.
This report identifies 6 distinct but interdependent areas in which to assess AI readiness:
- Strategy
- People
- Processes
- Data
- Technology and Platforms
- Ethical implications
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Technology Strategy & Architecture
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Technology Strategy & Architecture
Program Management
