The quiet power of AI: Why governments must embrace it without losing their nerve

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is often referred to as a futuristic, disruptive, and borderline intimidating frontier of technology. Although, its most palpable impact might be far less glamourous.  With the way it is penetrating all levels of tech-enabled industries, it won’t be long before it appears in the everyday interactions citizens have with the state: the permits that get delayed, the applications that go unanswered, the compliance checks that feel opaque, and the long wait for a service that should have taken minutes instead of months.

For instance, consider an applicant who sought routine documentation from a local development authority and was told the process would take two weeks. Instead, every fortnight, the assigned case officer responded with the same remark: “The copy is not clear.” The applicant repeatedly submitted high-resolution, crystal-clear documents, yet the rejections continued without any proper explanation. After four months of this loop, the file was handed to an intermediary who uploaded the same documents and received approval within three days.

Despite there being a fully digital workflow, it failed to translate into reliability or accountability. This is the kind of friction AI can eliminate. A simple model that checks document clarity, confirms legibility, and prevents arbitrary rejections could turn these experiences from unpredictable to dependable.

This is where the real promise of AI in governance lies: not replacing people, but replacing inefficiency.

Where AI can deliver real value for governance

Every government, regardless of geography, faces the same pressures: speed, precision, and transparency. AI is built for these demands.

Document-heavy workflows — licences, approvals, welfare applications, land-use permissions, property records — can be streamlined faster. Models can screen documents, flag issues, auto-validate format,s and standardise submissions before an officer ever opens the file.

AI can transform justice administration, law enforcement, regulatory design and delivery, tax administration, and public procurement. These areas depend on pattern recognition, precedent analysis, anomaly detection, and cross-verification, exactly the strengths of modern AI systems. When used responsibly, AI can shorten timelines, reduce backlog,s and improve consistency in decisions.

It also lightens the administrative load on public servants. Drafting briefs, summarising legislation, generating standard communications, translating documents, and tracking compliance are tasks AI can safely handle with human oversight. This gives officers the time they need to This frees officers to focus on decisions that genuinely require experience, judgement, and empathy.

Where governments must move carefully

Caution is not resistance. It is a responsibility. Some decisions simply carry far higher stakes than others. If a food delivery app mixes up an order, the worst that happens is mild inconvenience. But if a policing algorithm, a welfare model, or a risk scoring tool makes a wrong call, the impact can alter someone’s life in very real ways.

High-risk use cases such as eligibility checks, predictive law enforcement systems, immigration decisions, and anything that sits close to surveillance need a different pace. They need slower rollouts, clearer rules, and formal ways for people to challenge a decision. Moving carefully in these areas is not red tape. It is how democracies protect people.

So why does global adoption still feel uneven? The issue is rarely intent. It is the order in which things are done. Public datasets are often scattered across departments. Procurement systems were built for older, slower technology cycles. And many teams are still not trained to read model outputs or spot bias.

The answer is not to rush but to sequence things correctly. Build strong data foundations, train people, set up audit and oversight pathways and then scale. Governments that take this approach will be the ones that shape the next era of public sector transformation.

India’s unique position in the global AI race

A clear global pattern has emerged. Major AI companies are rolling out their products either free or at very low cost in large, open and tech savvy markets. India is one of the strongest examples. With its sheer scale, digital appetite, cultural and linguistic variety and high adoption rates, the country has become one of the most valuable learning grounds for AI models.

For global firms, India offers something very few markets can match: massive volume, linguistic richness, diverse user behaviour and fast feedback cycles. More adoption improves accuracy. More usage generates better training signals. More diversity makes systems stronger and more reliable.

This also creates a rare opportunity for Indian citizens. If AI companies are competing for presence, usage, and data, India can use that position to negotiate stronger safeguards, greater transparency, meaningful privacy protections, and more accessible public sector tools. People can genuinely benefit from this global race if the advantage is used thoughtfully.

AI is not meant to shrink the role of government. It cannot replace the core duties of public institutions such as justice, welfare, safety, and regulation. What it can do is help these institutions work better by improving productivity, cutting compliance costs, and reducing the everyday friction citizens face.

The most meaningful gains will feel simple. A woman gets her document on time. A startup moves forward without delays. A pensioner receives a clear and fair decision. These are human wins. When the government works smoothly, people trust it. And when trust grows, institutions can deliver their best.

Abhinav Bhatia