Moving Fast, Staying Human: How AI Can Build Trust and Improve Government Services
December 9, 2025 | by Julia McIlroy
Moving Fast, Staying Human: How AI Can Build Trust and Improve Government Services
Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming how governments serve citizens. From faster permitting to better customer service, AI holds tremendous promise—but success depends on trust, collaboration, and keeping people at the center of every innovation. At the 2025 GovAI Coalition Summit in San Jose, CA, these themes surfaced repeatedly, each reinforcing a simple truth: AI works best when humans remain at the helm.
A New Era for Service and Speed
AI is reshaping how governments deliver services, communicate with citizens, and manage operations. Across the country, agencies are exploring how AI can optimize bus routes, streamline permit processes, translate languages, and provide faster, more responsive public services.
When deployed responsibly, AI enables employees to refocus on higher-value tasks, such as analysis, relationship building, and problem-solving, while the technology handles repetitive or data-intensive tasks. The theme echoed throughout the Summit: Move fast, but keep humans at the helm.
For citizens, the benefits can be immediate and visible: smarter transportation planning, simplified permitting, or real-time translation that improves access to local government. The key is transparency and trust—helping communities understand that AI is a tool for better service, not an impersonal replacement for human connection.
Lessons from Real-World Pilots
While the potential of AI is enormous, real-world experience reminds us that technology alone cannot guarantee success. Cities such as South Bend, Indiana; Fairfield, California; and Long Beach, California, have each experimented with AI-driven projects that produced valuable lessons for the broader public sector.
- South Bend, IN: A voice bot project struggled due to outdated and sensitive data—costs outweighed benefits. South Bend did incorporate Copilot for city employees.
- Fairfield, CA: A citywide fire station alert system failed from limited stakeholder involvement, unclear scope, and communication silos. They provide Know Your Zone emergency preparedness to city residents
- Long Beach, CA: The “Ask Elby” chatbot faced broken data links and outdated content, yet the lessons led to a modernized website and new performance metrics.
These experiences emphasize that successful AI requires people, process, and preparation—not just technology. When projects lose the human element—stakeholder input, data stewardship, frontline insight—they falter. When people steer the work, the outcomes strengthen.
Before launching any AI project, agencies should:
• Diagnose the true problem to be solved.
• Define what success looks like early.
• Engage the right stakeholders—finance, IT, operations, and leadership.
• Secure funding and establish clear communication.
• Recognize that failure is part of innovation and an opportunity to learn.
As one local government leader put it, “We’re in the people business, not the IT or procurement business.” AI succeeds only when it supports that mission.
Collaborative Procurement: Buying Smarter, Together
AI procurement presents unique challenges because, as one procurement official aptly said, “Buying AI is not like buying staplers.” The technology is dynamic, data-driven, and continually evolving. That’s why collaborative procurement—sharing standards, benchmarks, and lessons learned—is critical for scaling responsible, human-centered AI across jurisdictions.
By incorporating public agency clauses in RFPs, developing outcome-based evaluation criteria, and assessing risk tolerance, agencies can set clearer expectations and drive better market outcomes. Cooperative purchasing agreements and peer-to-peer networks like the GovAI community help agencies share insights, strengthen supplier accountability, and foster competition that leads to innovation.
This collaborative approach reinforces a core principle: technology changes fast, but people guide the direction.
Moving Forward
Governments are already using AI for permitting, translation, GIS annexation, and even rewriting police reports. These early applications show that progress is both possible and practical—but only when guided by purpose, responsibility, and collaboration.
AI is not about replacing people; it’s about empowering them. It’s about helping public servants do more of what they do best—serve, connect, communicate, and build trust. As agencies continue to innovate and experiment, one guiding truth remains:
We can move fast, but we must always keep humans at the helm.
Additional Resources:
AI-Powered Procurement: Harnessing AI’s Potential for More Efficient State Procurement Practices
AI Sets Sail: Early Waves in State Procurement Innovation
Steering the Future: Keeping Humanity at the Helm of AI
