When AI starts to act: Alan Smeaton on the future of Government
Can AI make decisions, not just suggestions? Professor Alan Smeaton — DCU researcher, Government AI Advisory Council member and builder of Ireland’s first AI teaching assistant — explains what agentic AI really means and why Estonia is blazing ahead and already using it in classrooms. He tells host Maeve Kneafsey why Ireland can’t afford to wait, how data can save citizens money, and why AI literacy must become a national skill and future economic stability and growth.[00:00] When AI starts to act [06:00] Teaching the machines that teach us [13:00] Estonia’s national rollout [22:00] What is Agentic AI? [30:00] Why AI literacy matters nowAgentic AI, Artificial Intelligence in Government, Digital Government, Public Sector Transformation, Generative AI, AI Literacy, Alan Smeaton, DCU, AI Advisory Council Ireland, Estonia Digital Government, Ireland eGovernment Awards, Accenture Public Sector, Transform Gov Podcast, Ireland, Europe Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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A new Golden Age of Infrastructure: Huda As’ad on data, AI and building better for citizens
From leading roles in the London 2012 Olympics to advising governments on next-generation infrastructure, Huda As’ad of Accenture believes we’re entering a new golden age — where AI, data, and digital twins redefine how nations build, maintain, and sustain public infrastructure.In this episode of Transform Gov, she explains how technology can cut waste, enhance safety, and build public trust in delivery. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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How predictive tech is cutting public infrastructure costs by 25%
From the London Olympics to Ireland’s National Development Plan — Huda As’ad, Managing Director for Capital Projects & Infrastructure at Accenture, shares how data, AI, and digital twins are reshaping how nations build and maintain public assets.Learn how predictive analytics is saving 25% on maintenance costs, how transparency builds trust, and why “fail fast, learn fast” is the new rule for public projects that deliver real outcomes. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Richard Corbridge: Breaking Barriers in Digital Transformation — from NHS & HSE to Global Industry
A conversation with one of the Ireland’s and UK's most influential CIOs on people-first transformation, AI in action, and why governance makes or breaks digital change.Richard Corbridge has led some of the biggest digital transformations in health, government and retail — from Ireland’s HSE and the NHS to Boots, the UK’s Department for Work & Pensions, and now property giant Segro. In this episode, Richard shares what it takes to keep technology people-first, how to make AI deliver real outcomes, and why governance and culture shape the CIO role more than ever. A must-listen for digital leaders navigating transformation in both the public and private sector.Key Topics for CIOsPeople-first digital transformation — why “citizen, patient, customer or colleague” all come first, not the tech.The evolving CIO role — moving from “the basement” to the boardroom, and why CIOs must be catalysts and foundations for change.AI in the public sector — lessons from the UK Dept. of Work & Pensions on using AI to read 24,000 handwritten letters daily and deliver help in 24 hours instead of 4 weeks.Avoiding AI hype — how to stop “AI for AI’s sake” and pick the right problems to solve.Governance that enables speed — why private sector governance delivers faster transformation and what public sector can learn.Agile vs. perfection — “Don’t let great be the enemy of good” in digital deployment.Building digital talent pipelines — attracting and developing IT professionals in public service, and tackling diversity and generational gaps.Cross-sector insights — how lessons from health, retail, government and industry overlap and inform each other.Future vision for public services — joined-up government, once-only data use, and seamless citizen experience.Personal side of leadership — balancing life as CIO with a thousand-strong vinyl collection and a “collector’s mindset.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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From worst broadband to digital pioneers
When the National Broadband Plan reached Longford, Danny Lynch and his team turned a rural challenge into a digital revolution. Partnering with Microsoft and Ericsson, they introduced hundreds of schoolchildren to coding, built new digital career pathways, and helped transform Longford into a hub of opportunity. Discover how a small county became a big player in Ireland’s public-sector digital transformation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
About Transform Gov - the digital government podcast
Transform Gov, the digital government podcast, brings you top names behind many of the most exciting and transformative digital government projects globally. If you are working in, or with, public sector transformers who are digitising the public sector, each episode brings inside tips and insights from talented leaders who have been there and done that.www.digitalgovawards.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
South Africa