Potential use of digital assistants by governments for citizen services: The case of Germany

Cigdem Akkaya, Helmut Krcmar

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

15 Scopus citations

Abstract

The German government has recently announced a national strategy for making Germany one of the leading locations for artificial intelligence (AI) worldwide. While the AI technology has been around since 1950s, the rise of it has been inescapable over the past decades. Current developments and widespread applications of intelligent technologies show signs that they will become even more prevalent in our lives. In public administrations, AI can support faster decision-making and increase responsiveness leading to higher citizen satisfaction. Digital assistants can carry out a wide range of functions ranging from checking applications against fraud to approval of state benefits or other claims. Yet, no matter how groundbreaking the technology is, its acceptance by citizens is the ultimate criterion of success, as in the case of all services offered by governments. We argue careful consideration needs to be given to citizen perspective as AI projects have high deployment and maintenance costs. Based on a nationwide representative survey, this research aims to provide some initial insights on the perspective of citizens towards the potential use of digital assistants by the German government for citizen services.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationProceedings of the 20th Annual International Conference on Digital Government Research
Subtitle of host publicationGovernance in the Age of Artificial Intelligence, dg.o 2019
EditorsYu-Che Chen, Fadi Salem, Anneke Zuiderwijk
PublisherAssociation for Computing Machinery
Pages81-90
Number of pages10
ISBN (Electronic)9781450372046
DOIs
StatePublished - 18 Jun 2019
Event20th Annual International Conference on Digital Government Research: Governance in the Age of Artificial Intelligence, dg.o 2019 - Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Duration: 18 Jun 201920 Jun 2019

Publication series

NameACM International Conference Proceeding Series

Conference

Conference20th Annual International Conference on Digital Government Research: Governance in the Age of Artificial Intelligence, dg.o 2019
Country/TerritoryUnited Arab Emirates
CityDubai
Period18/06/1920/06/19

Keywords

  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Digital Assistants
  • E-government
  • G2C Citizen Services
  • Germany
  • Public administration

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