Digital discretion and public administration in Africa
Implications for the use of artificial intelligence
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21501148 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Paul Plantinga (0000-0003-0151-3601, Human Sciences Research Council, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2024 |
| Volume | 40 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 332-352 |
| Publication date | 2024-06-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Information Development (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0266-6669 • E-ISSN: 1741-6469 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/02666669221117526 |
| OpenAlex | W4289867805 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 5 |
| References cited | 64 |
African public administrations are in an especially difficult position with respect to the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI), in both how they harness its benefits but also in managing potential harms. Through a narrative review of existing research, this paper synthesises findings from previous digital government implementations on the African continent, and considers the implications for AI use. The analysis is centred on the way public officials are bypassed or empowered to work with emerging technologies, and the influence of public service values on their adoption. Four concerns emerge as relevant: Integrity of recommendations provided by decision-support systems, including how they are influenced by local organisational practices and the reliability of underlying infrastructures; Inclusive decision-making that balances the (assumed) objectivity of data-driven algorithms and the influence of different stakeholder groups; Exception and accountability in how digital and AI platforms are funded, developed, implemented and used; and an expectation of Complete understanding of people and events through the integration of traditionally dispersed data sources and systems, and how policy actors seek to mitigate the risks associated with this aspiration
Accountability · Business · Discretion · Implementation · Knowledge management · Narrative · Political science · Process management · Public relations · Stakeholder · Blockchain Technology Applications and Security · Computer Science · E-Government and Public Services · FinTech, Crowdfunding, Digital Finance
Digital strategies against corruption
Piloting text-mining in a mixed-method evaluation on human rights
Blockchain applications for enhancing transparency and accountability in digital governance in developing countries
Digital public administration and fiscal legitimacy in post-conflict settings
Predictable patterns of unpredictability
The Democratization of Artificial Intelligence
Policy Alienation of Public Professionals
Street-Level Bureaucracy and E-Government
Stop explaining black box machine learning models for high stakes decisions and use interpretable models instead
Null
AI governance in the public sector
Datafication, development and marginalised urban communities
Digital innovation and the fourth industrial revolution
In AI we trust? Perceptions about automated decision-making by artificial intelligence
The normativity of numbers in practice
Chief information officers’ perceptions about artificial intelligence
Implications of the use of artificial intelligence in public governance
Digital discretion
One Hell of a Killing Machine
Algorithmic states of exception
Assessing irreversibility of an E-Government project in Kenya
The small group subtlety of using ICT for participatory governance
ICT, public values and transformative government
Digital platforms and institutional voids in developing countries
Artificial Intelligence, Discretion, and Bureaucracy
Digital and spatial knowledge management in urban governance
Controlling petty corruption in public administrations of developing countries through digitalization
From Street‐Level to System‐Level Bureaucracies
Foreign Aid and Statehood in Africa
Artificial intelligence, bureaucratic form, and discretion in public service
Automating Inequality
A Public Management for All Seasons
Interpreting Interpretivism Interpreting Interpretations
The Biometric Imaginary
The Biometric State
| Citations per year | 2.5 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2024 - 2026 (3) |
| Highly cited | No |