AI driven digital transformation in the public sector
This project explores the role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) as a key impetus for organizational transformation. It builds on the premise that large traditional organizations in public sector are increasingly embarking on digital transformation journeys to learn and adapt to discontinuous technological change.
However, learning and creating new value generating mechanisms through AI-driven digital transformation is extremely challenging due to significant inertial forces, and challenges to changing the value creation processes.
Some of these challenges are introduced to organizations because of AI’s opacity, autonomy, malleability and probabilistic nature.
This project will rely on qualitative analysis of in-depth cases studies of organizations that are undergoing change and organizational transformation to build, integrate and scale AI within organizational processes and products. We will build on extensive field work that has been conducted to collect data from AI projects globally.
We will draw on discussions with 53 data executives from the Data Advisory Board chaired by Professor Barbara Wixom at MIT Sloan Centre for Information Systems Research and 102 interviews with data scientists, domain experts and consultants associated with 52 distinct AI projects from around the world.
Through our qualitative analysis, we will examine the mechanisms of transformation that affect organizational capability development, and re-negotiation of cultural values and norms, work design and division of tasks between humans and machines, governance of algorithmic work and creation of new value creation pathways that positively influence stakeholders.
This research will be translational in nature, in that it will contribute to novel theoretical understanding on organizational transformation induced by AI but will also provide practical guidance for Australian public sector organisations on how best to implement and transform with AI, developed through a pool of global AI projects.
Our results will be published in industry joint reports with SAP and practitioner outputs published by MIT CISR and Sloan Management Review. This will ultimately increase uptake of these technologies, resulting in benefits for Australian organisations, the economy and society as a whole.
