AI4Gov Learning Path - AI4Gov Master Program in Artificial Intelligence in Public Services
The AI4Gov project offers a comprehensive learning path designed to provide core elements and robust foundations for all those who are seeking to harness the potential of AI for public good, drawing from the expertise of leading practitioners and scholars in the field. Developed in collaboration with Universidad Politécnica de Madrid and Politecnico di Milano, the content of the Master provides an engaging mix of concise video pills and enlightening Master classes, incorporating insights from the AI4Gov master program. Video pills deliver valuable insights in digestible formats, while Master classes, led by globally recognised experts within the AI4Gov ecosystem, provide deeper dives into key topics, including those covered in the AI4Gov master curriculum. Complementing these resources, each theoretical module is enriched with an essential bibliography, facilitating further exploration and enhancing understanding of presented concepts.
Comprising a total of 20 units distributed across four thematic sections, the AI4Gov learning path is designed to foster a comprehensive understanding of AI's role in governance, aligning with the objectives of the AI4Gov project to educate individuals on the management, usage, and governance of AI in the public sector. The AI4Gov master program equips students with the knowledge, capacities, and skills to manage and operationalise AI technology in public services, addressing issues such as practical implementation, users' centricity, ethics, regulations, public policy, co-creation, impact on society, and overarching governance. By integrating elements from the AI4Gov master, this learning path ensures that learners not only grasp the foundations and state of the art of AI technologies but also understand the full cycle of a public tech-based project: from design and development to delivery and evaluation of AI-related public services and projects, thus contributing to the enhancement of European society through innovative and value-driven public services.
AI4GOV - Module A. AI in Public Administration: Mastering the governance “of, with and by AI" | Introductory Master Class
The module A of the AI4GOV Master offers a preliminary insight into its essential disciplinary elements, providing foundational understanding of AI, its applications in driving digital transformation within the public sector, and the necessary steps involved in developing and implementing AI-powered public services. Ultimately, this module will steer you from an organisation-centric approach to a user-centric perspective when designing public services, thanks to thought-provoking interventions.
Part of this module, this introductory session dives into the core concepts of AI and its potential to revolutionise public services. You'll explore how AI can drive digital transformation, the steps involved in developing AI-powered services, challenging you to shift from an organisation-centric to a user-centric approach when designing public services.
AI4GOV - Module A. AI in Public Administration: The new Geopolitics of AI: Challenges and opportunities - Master Class
Disruptive innovations in AI and technology enhance competitiveness, driving economic growth and global leadership amid evolving dynamics. The race for technological dominance is shaping international relations, with countries investing heavily in AI and innovation to bolster their status in the global market. Companies leveraging disruptive technologies can achieve higher productivity, transforming industries and establishing market leadership, which in turn fuels further innovation.
This Master Class delves into the evolving global landscape of AI, examining the challenges and opportunities it presents. You'll gain insights into the geopolitical implications of AI development and how it might impact international relations.
AI4GOV - Module B. AI and Ethics: AI and Ethics - Master Class
This Masterclass and the following two units are part of the Module B on "AI and Ethics" of the AI4GOV Master. The Module will help you to handle the legal and ethical aspects of AI in relation to public services, through theory and practice. Every professional in touch with AI systems, from technology providers to final technology adopters, must adopt decisions which are a matter of ethical responsibility and compliance. The new AI developments and the new decision-making processes where AI has been introduced in the last few years, create a new range of challenges that cannot be ignored. This module will provide you with practical and theoretical tools to address these issues.
AI ethics emerged as a vital field around 2018, addressing ethical risks in technology. The field gained prominence due to rapid technological advancements, highlighting the importance of ethics in AI development. Ethical considerations have become central to discussions around AI, making them more relevant than ever, which is why ethical guidelines are essential for mitigating risks associated with AI systems.
In this Masterclass on AI and Ethics Philip Brey discusses AI ethics, its implications, and the need for ethical frameworks, guidelines, and multi-stakeholder strategies in AI development and deployment.
AI4GOV - Module B. AI and Ethics: Regulation of Data
This lecture is about the legal frameworks governing data collection, storage, and use in the context of AI-powered public services, also discussing how they impact the development and deployment of AI in the public sector. Victor Rodriguez Doncel discusses the regulation of data in the EU, highlighting data sovereignty and various laws like GDPR, DSA, DMA, and DGA that govern data use.
AI4GOV - Module B. AI and Ethics: Trustworthy AI
The European concept of trustworthy AI emphasises human rights, ethical principles, and robust systems, ensuring that technology serves humanity rather than undermines it, as outlined by the EU’s fundamental values and regulations. In this lecture you’ll examine principles for ensuring responsible and ethical development of AI in public services, to build trust with citizens when using AI for public good.
AI4GOV - Module C. Basic concepts and techniques in AI in public services - A generalised process for AI deployment in PA & Basic Concepts and Techniques in AI
This lecture and the next 9 units are part of the Module C of the AI4GOV Master. In this module you will get an overview of the different types of techniques that are being used for the development and deployment of AI-based services (in the public sector and in industry). You will learn to differentiate between different types of knowledge, you will learn the main techniques that are used for knowledge representation, for data mining, for machine learning and for deep learning, and the different groups of tasks that can be solved with all these techniques, and when each of them are applicable.
How to deploy AI in public services? Contracting the right AI based service, providing its maintenance and making sure it's what's needed: what methodologies can support these processes? Whether you are involved in decision-making or a piece of the chain of implementation, here you'll gain elements and perspectives on integrating AI into public services. Here you'll also learn about the various AI techniques used for developing and deploying AI-based services, understanding when and how to apply these techniques to solve specific public sector challenges.
AI4GOV - Module C. Basic concepts and techniques in AI in public services - Data and metadata and Knowledge: a cornerstone for AI based systems
This lecture is part of the Module C of the AI4GOV Master. In this module you will get an overview of the different types of techniques that are being used for the development and deployment of AI-based services (in the public sector and in industry). You will learn to differentiate between different types of knowledge, you will learn the main techniques that are used for knowledge representation, for data mining, for machine learning and for deep learning, and the different groups of tasks that can be solved with all these techniques, and when each of them are applicable.
This section emphasises the importance of data and knowledge management for building effective AI systems. You'll learn how to distinguish between data and metadata, understand their role in AI development, and explore strategies for knowledge representation.
AI4GOV - Module C. Basic concepts and techniques in AI in public services – Ontologies
Part of the Module C, this lecture likely dives into ontologies, a specific knowledge representation method that structures information in a way that's understandable by both humans and machines. Ontologies define concepts and relationships within a domain, facilitating a shared understanding of data. This structured approach aids in effective data management and retrieval. Understanding the distinctions between ontologies, glossaries, and taxonomies is crucial for selecting the right knowledge management tool for specific needs. In this session you will learn what ontologies are and their importance in managing data.
AI4GOV - Module C. Basic concepts and techniques in AI in public services - Rule-based systems
In this short presentation you'll explore rule-based systems, a traditional AI approach that relies on predefined rules to make decisions. You'll understand their strengths and limitations in the context of public service applications.
AI4GOV - Module C. Basic concepts and techniques in AI in public services - Linear regression
This short presentation focuses on linear regression, a category of machine learning techniques that allows modeling relationships between variables. You'll learn how to apply it to solve various public sector problems, especially in prediction tasks.
AI4GOV - Module C. Basic concepts and techniques in AI in public services - Unsupervised learning. Clustering
This presentation introduces unsupervised learning in general, and clustering in particular, a category of machine learning techniques used to group similar data items together. You'll explore its applications for tasks like customer segmentation or anomaly detection in public services.
AI4GOV - Module C. Basic concepts and techniques in AI in public services - Supervised classification
This short presentation dives into supervised classification, a category of machine learning techniques where data is labeled and used to train algorithms to categorise new data items. You'll learn how it can be used for tasks like spam filtering or credit risk assessment in public services.
AI4GOV - Module C. Basic concepts and techniques in AI in the context of public services: Neural networks - Presentation
This presentation explores neural networks in general, and deep learning in particular. You'll understand how they work and their potential applications for many types of tasks. The main objectives of the lesson are: To learn the motivation and design of artificial neural networks; to know about the learning process of an artificial neural network; to discover neural networks applications.
AI4GOV - Module C. Basic concepts and techniques in AI in the context of public services: Natural Language Processing - Presentation
“Natural Language Processing (NLP) is a field of artificial intelligence that combines knowledge from linguistics and computer science domains to make machines able to understand, generate, and manipulate human language”. Jacob Eisenstein, Computational Linguistic.
This presentation focuses on natural language processing (NLP), a subfield of AI that deals with the understanding and generation of human language.
AI4GOV - Module D. Human-Centric approach for AI-powered Public Services: Design in AI4GOV: From the approach to the Toolkit
This lecture and the following five are parte of Module D, which will introduce you to the world of Service Design through theory and practice. You’ll be provided with basic knowledge about what design and service design are, as well as some methodologies, tools, and case studies to connect design, AI, and the public sector. The module explains the fundamentals of the Design Process and the approach to problem solving and problem setting that is typical of design. It analyses the process that can be used to apply human-centricity to the creation of AI-powered public services, focusing on context analysis, idea elicitation, idea development, prototyping and testing. The module also guides participants through practical exercises to start understanding how to apply a design approach to the development of AI-powered public services.
This section introduces the design approach that is adopted in the Master, including human-centred design principles and the design thinking process specifically applied to developing AI-powered public services. You'll learn about design methodologies, tools, and case studies that help ensure human-centricity throughout the development of your solutions.
AI4GOV - Module D. Human-Centric approach for AI-powered Public Services: Context analysis: engaging users for meaningful AI adoption
This section emphasises the importance of understanding user needs and analysing the context when designing AI-powered services. You'll explore techniques for user research and problem understanding to ensure the AI solution effectively addresses real-world problems.
AI4GOV - Module D. Human-Centric approach for AI-powered Public Services: Envisioning solutions: using creativity to feed innovation
This section encourages creative thinking in the development of AI-powered solutions. It emphasises the importance of thinking outside the box to foster innovation, challenging conventional methods, and exploring new possibilities. By integrating diverse perspectives and imaginative approaches, teams can discover unique solutions and drive the advancement of AI technologies.
AI4GOV - Module D. Human-Centric approach for AI-powered Public Services: Idea development: developing AI solutions with a socio-technical lens
This section highlights the significance of considering both social and technical aspects during the AI development process. It stresses the need for solutions that are not only technologically robust but also socially responsible and beneficial. By adopting a socio-technical lens, participants are guided through a method that can help ensure that AI systems align with ethical standards, address societal challenges, and enhance human well-being. The goal is to create AI solutions that are inclusive, fair, and capable of positively impacting communities.
AI4GOV - Module D. Human-Centric approach for AI-powered Public Services: Prototyping and testing: ensuring AI is human-centric
This section focuses on the importance of prototyping and testing AI systems to ensure they are designed with humans in mind. It underscores the need for iterative testing, user feedback, and real-world validation to refine solutions. By prioritising human-centric design principles, participants are taught a method to create AI solutions that are intuitive, accessible, and user-friendly.
AI4GOV - Module D. Human-Centric approach for AI-powered Public Services: Transforming organisations: leveraging a cultural change for AI
This section addresses the role of organisational culture in successfully implementing AI technologies. It explores how fostering a culture of innovation, collaboration, and continuous learning can drive the adoption and integration of AI within organisations. By embracing cultural change, organisations can overcome resistance, harness the full potential of AI, and stay competitive in a rapidly evolving landscape. The focus is on cultivating an environment that supports experimentation, agility, and a forward-thinking mindset.