Robo-debt should not stop governments using AI, Dominello says
Generative artificial intelligence is going to hyper-personalise service delivery and governments should not let the failings of robo-debt stop agencies from embracing the powerful technology, former NSW digital minister Victor Dominello says.
“Gen AI is the biggest thing that’s going to happen to service delivery in our lifetime and I say that because it’s going to automate the knowledge economy,” the former minister, who is now a University of NSW professor, said.
A team of former NSW officials behind the states world-leading Service NSW platform have joined former minister Victor Dominello in a new advisory firm known as Service Gen. Twitter
“It’s not if, it’s just how fast. The knowledge economy is health, it is education, it is law and so much more.”
“This is another flat Earth moment, when we will all soon wake up to a new understanding. Government needs to get its head around and responsibly test-bed this space pretty quick. Otherwise, there is going to be a yawning gap in service delivery and trust.”
Professor Dominello and the former head of Service NSW, Damon Rees, have launched a new advisory firm called Service Gen, drawing on people who have been behind NSW’s world-leading digital transformation.
The group aims to offer real-world experience to other jurisdictions and portfolios looking to embrace AI and other advanced technologies to transform sectors in government.
“We’ve got to get this architecture right now. We’ve got to learn from robo-debt. But learning from robo-debt doesn’t mean that we put our head in the sand and fall further behind.”
Mr Rees said the complexity of government made it difficult for outsiders to be effective.
“The complexity is often under-appreciated until you’ve worked inside these big systems,” he said. “Until you’ve come to fully appreciate the operating context of government, the challenges and constraints, and built the lived experience of what works and doesn’t. There’s a unique experience there.”
Mr Rees was also NSW’s former chief digital and information officer. His review led to the federal government canning its nearly $500 million modernisation of over 30 business registries.
He said government transformation efforts were littered with too many technology centric and IT product-centric attempts to change.
Professor Dominello said it was important to get ahead of technological change, noting that NSW worked on a digital ID for five years before releasing a beta version. But he cautioned against thinking too far ahead.
“The best minds on the planet when it comes to the future are seriously only predicting with confidence five to 10 years max.”
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