Digital transformation toward AI-augmented public administration: The perception of government employees and the willingness to use AI in government

Government employees play a critical role in adopting and using new technologies in government, and their attitude and willingness to use them matter in creating a sustainable and meaningful digital transformation. This study explores how the perception of government employees shapes the willingness to support the use of AI technologies in government. Based on a survey data on current government employees in the U.S., our analysis reveals that the willingness to implement and use AI technologies in government was contingent upon a series of positive and negative perceptions about the new technologies, long-term outlook on the role of AI technologies in society, and the familiarity and experience in using some form of AI applications in the past. In particular, the perception of AI enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of the work and a positive and longer-term outlook on AI's future about human labor (as an assistant or a competitor), the perception of the technology's ultimate harm or benefit (does it harm or benefit humanity), its ability to eventually make ethical and moral judgments influenced the willingness to support AI technologies in government. A substantial proportion of the government employees in the survey sample responded that they had experienced using some form of AI applications in their work and this familiarity had a strong positive influence on their support for AI. Our findings point to the importance of training the government employees in AI technologies to improve their understanding and perception about the new technologies as well as their potentials in government that will foster a culture of innovation toward sustainable and impactful digital transformation. •Government employee 'buy-in' matters in the successful implementation of AI technologies in government.•Willingness to support AI in government is contingent on perceptions about AI technologies - especially their long-term harm/benefit outlook, their perceived effect on human labor, and the likelihood that AI will be able to make reasonable ethical decisions.•Familiarity or experience in using AI applications also positively influenced the willingness to support the use of AI in government.•Importance of employee training and education on AI to improve understanding about the new technologies and to facilitate a culture of innovation toward sustainable AI-augmented public administration.