AI, geospatial technologies and extended reality are set to play increasingly significant roles in public services over the next year, according to the new annual digital trends survey from Socitm.
The Society for Innovation, Technology and Modernisation has identified the three within the summary and outlined their potential within the full report, also pointing to the need for ‘community resilience’ as the next stage of cyber security.
The report says that AI has emerged as the stand-out trend for 2024, with the potential to play a significant role across the whole spectrum of public services. It holds particular promise in the further automation of customer service journeys, the identification of risks and the analysis and demonstration of service decisions and risks.
Socitm reiterates the view that AI will enhance rather than replace human activity, and over time it will lead to new public services that it would not yet be possible to deliver.
Early adopters are already experimenting with AI and this will increase, but adoption may not be quite as fast as some expect, due to the need to establish basic factors around policies, compliance, skills, risk control and data readiness.
Joined up resources
Geospatial technologies are set to become more important as they are combined with others such as virtual and augmented reality and digital twins, helping to design ‘virtual services’ that connect digital resources in more joined up ways.
In addition, extended reality – or immersive experience – offers public services new ways of engaging with citizens, testing the design of services, tracking risks and performance and driving out costs. But this will take time to develop and rely heavily on data readiness.
The report also highlights the continuing importance of cyber protection in the face of a growing sophistication of threats. It says that Socitm’s research has found that digital leaders are increasing considering community resilience to protect supply chains and wider infrastructures, as well as the needs of vulnerable individuals.
This can involve an approach that includes using internal and external reviewers, not all with IT responsibilities, and working across linked organisation. There will also be new cyber compliance and threat protection services enabled by AI.
Collaboration imperative
On a broad front, Socitm says that collaboration and joint working will be increasingly important in defining digitally based service models in connected places, with organisations that stick to old ways of working finding it progressively difficult to solve their digital and service problems.
‘Whole system’ working in connected places will depend on significant change to organisational structures and their governance, and there is a need for local and national leadership to work together in this respect.
Martin Ferguson, director of policy and research at Socitm and co-author of the report, said: “In the UK, in particular, the sector is in crisis. Unlike the political choices in the ‘austerity years’, the ongoing financial hardship local authorities face while trying to transform digital delivery means a radically different approach is needed.
“The courage from political and executive leadership to take advantage of the new technological possibilities is essential if councils are to provide the services which improve people’s lives. This will only be realised if there is creativity, collaboration and vision across organisations and places which we cover in some detail throughout this report.”
The report's other authors are Jos Creese, Diana Rebaza and David Ogden.
