Survey: AI Adoption and Implementation in Public Sector Organizations

Has artificial intelligence gone beyond hype into the phase of adoption for public sector organizations? According to a recent survey of public sector IT leaders, early AI adoption is on the rise. Much of the progress to-date has been spurred by an Executive Order which was signed to ensure a focus on AI, and the launch of AI.gov. Now leaders in the federal, state and local, and higher education communities are seeking to incorporate AI as a pivotal part of their data strategy. Yet, in many cases, implementation may be slow to start.

To better understand the extent of AI adoption in the public sector and create an accurate, holistic view of its implementation, 300 public sector IT leaders were surveyed and the results have been released in the AI is Out There: Early Adoption in Federal, State, Local, and Higher Education Organizations report. The survey from MeriTalk, NetApp, and immixGroup, an Arrow company, delves into where IT managers think their agencies are with AI as a broader concept and aims to understand their usage of foundational AI technologies like chatbots, intelligent analytics, and high-performance computing.

Download the Report Here

The study confirmed that AI is not a concept of the future, according to the survey’s press release. The results highlight that almost all of the IT managers surveyed (90 percent) have “sensed a shift in momentum toward the adoption and application of AI technologies in their organizations over the last two years.”

While the shift towards AI in the public sector is apparent to nearly all of these IT managers, the adoption rates don’t appear to tell the same story. According to the survey, only 14 percent of respondents say they have implemented and are currently benefiting from AI technology in their organization today. That said, 61 percent say they do benefit from at least one foundational AI technology, with voice assistants, high-performance computing, and chatbots all topping the list.

It’s clear that the federal and SLED communities understand the massive impact that AI has on their day-to-day and long-term operations, even if the action to implement the technology is slow-moving. However, many thought leaders think that adoption rates will continue to rise as more organizations and agencies benefit from AI’s power on a greater scale.

“Realistically, we can expect to see AI continue to gain more traction over the next year,” said Rob Stein, Vice President, U.S. Public Sector at NetApp. “Agencies must start to simplify, accelerate, and integrate their data pipeline as a first step to developing a broader, more complex AI strategy.”

AI in the public sector is sure to become a more notable part of federal and SLED IT road maps. The confidence in the technology is there; the foundation and infrastructure need to be established to really see the technology shine. You can download the report in full here.