Anticipating Change: How Will AI Shape the Future of Public Service

As AI reshapes automation, procurement, and even elements of decision-making, institutions increasingly need to reimagine and prepare for multiple futures, some promising, some disruptive, but all demanding thoughtfulness, exploration and continuous learning, and a readiness that must begin today.

Roland Benedikter, Co-Head of the Center for Advanced Studies at Eurac Research, and UNESCO Chair in Interdisciplinary Anticipation and Global-Local Transformation, described anticipation as "an exercise in flexing your internal muscle because when you prepare for the future, you are practicing how to be flexible."

With this statement, Dr. Roland Benedikter set the tone for a conversation that spotlighted Anticipatory Practice as a critical tool for the future of public administration.

For the World Futures Day on 2 December, we asked how the public administration will look like in 2050 and how the role of civil servants could evolve. To answer this question, we invited members of the SPARK-AI Alliance , a global network of schools of public administration and public sector experts collaborating on training civil servants in AI, as well as 30 participants ranging from the French and the Kenyan government, the European Commission to academia, and the private sector.