Can AI make decisions, not just suggestions? Professor Alan Smeaton — DCU researcher, Government AI Advisory Council member and builder of Ireland’s first AI teaching assistant — explains what agentic AI really means and why Estonia is blazing ahead and already using it in classrooms. He tells host Maeve Kneafsey why Ireland can’t afford to wait, how data can save citizens money, and why AI literacy must become a national skill and future economic stability and growth.

[00:00] When AI starts to act  

[06:00] Teaching the machines that teach us  

[13:00] Estonia’s national rollout  

[22:00] What is Agentic AI?  

[30:00] Why AI literacy matters now

Agentic AI, Artificial Intelligence in Government, Digital Government, Public Sector Transformation, Generative AI, AI Literacy, Alan Smeaton, DCU, AI Advisory Council Ireland, Estonia Digital Government, Ireland eGovernment Awards, Accenture Public Sector, Transform Gov Podcast, Ireland, Europe

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From leading roles in the London 2012 Olympics to advising governments on next-generation infrastructure, Huda As’ad of Accenture believes we’re entering a new golden age — where AI, data, and digital twins redefine how nations build, maintain, and sustain public infrastructure.

In this episode of Transform Gov, she explains how technology can cut waste, enhance safety, and build public trust in delivery.

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From the London Olympics to Ireland’s National Development Plan — Huda As’ad, Managing Director for Capital Projects & Infrastructure at Accenture, shares how data, AI, and digital twins are reshaping how nations build and maintain public assets.

Learn how predictive analytics is saving 25% on maintenance costs, how transparency builds trust, and why “fail fast, learn fast” is the new rule for public projects that deliver real outcomes.

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A conversation with one of the Ireland’s and UK's most influential CIOs on people-first transformation, AI in action, and why governance makes or breaks digital change.

Richard Corbridge has led some of the biggest digital transformations in health, government and retail — from Ireland’s HSE and the NHS to Boots, the UK’s Department for Work & Pensions, and now property giant Segro. In this episode, Richard shares what it takes to keep technology people-first, how to make AI deliver real outcomes, and why governance and culture shape the CIO role more than ever. A must-listen for digital leaders navigating transformation in both the public and private sector.

• People-first digital transformation — why “citizen, patient, customer or colleague” all come first, not the tech.
• The evolving CIO role — moving from “the basement” to the boardroom, and why CIOs must be catalysts and foundations for change.
• AI in the public sector — lessons from the UK Dept. of Work & Pensions on using AI to read 24,000 handwritten letters daily and deliver help in 24 hours instead of 4 weeks.
• Avoiding AI hype — how to stop “AI for AI’s sake” and pick the right problems to solve.
• Governance that enables speed — why private sector governance delivers faster transformation and what public sector can learn.
• Agile vs. perfection — “Don’t let great be the enemy of good” in digital deployment.
• Building digital talent pipelines — attracting and developing IT professionals in public service, and tackling diversity and generational gaps.
• Cross-sector insights — how lessons from health, retail, government and industry overlap and inform each other.
• Future vision for public services — joined-up government, once-only data use, and seamless citizen experience.
• Personal side of leadership — balancing life as CIO with a thousand-strong vinyl collection and a “collector’s mindset.”

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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

AI in government has shifted from “don’t touch it” to “how fast can we scale it?” In this episode of Transform Gov, host Maeve Kneafsey speaks with Marianne Cassidy of the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform about Ireland’s updated AI guidelines—designed not to restrict, but to empower.

Discover how cross-functional teams (from HR to legal to CIOs) shaped practical frameworks and decision tools; why real use cases—from Revenue, Agriculture and the HSE—were the turning point; how the IPA is embedding AI into CPD and leadership training; and why trust, GDPR compliance and collaboration are critical to scaling safe, human-centric AI across the public sector.

If you work in digital transformation, service design, or policy innovation, this is a must-listen: insights, examples, and lessons you can apply right now.

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• Life-event lens: births, social housing, driving, becoming a student
• Governance: hybrid model for cross-department ownership
• Design process: user research, journey mapping, Target Operating Models
• Impact: cutting 40+ steps from the birth journey
• Tech: “skin-over-legacy” for seamless front-end experience
• Inclusion: designing for amplified needs via Nimbus Centre partnerships

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🎧 What happens when 31 local authorities decide to act as one? Sabahat Khan, Assistant CEO and CIO of the LGMA, joins Transform Gov to reveal how they're reshaping Ireland’s local government services through design-led, citizen-first digital transformation.

From standardising services to building trust and rolling out a national SOC, this is digital reform with teeth. Tune in now for practical insight, big vision, and what it takes to get 31 moving parts working as one.

🔗 Listen here or watch on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@Transformthedigitalgover-123/videos

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What if the secret to protecting your core services was giving away content on other platforms? And what if public trust hinged on the accessibility of your apps?

In Part 2, RTÉ’s Tracey Diamond and Joe Hoban reveal how Ireland’s national broadcaster:

• Used short-form content to amplify traditional TV and radio
• Made user experience and accessibility central to rebuilding trust
• Navigates AI’s promise and pitfalls in public service media
• Delivers lessons every public sector team should hear
• 
  

🎧 Essential for leaders shaping digital government.

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RTÉ’s Joe Hoban and Tracey Diamond share how their award-finalist campaign “We’re here to be better, for you” became the start of a new era for public service media.

In this episode of Transform Gov, Maeve Kneafsey asks:

✔️ Why did RTÉ choose to go public with such a bold message?

✔️ How can public organisations communicate honestly without making things worse?

✔️ What role does digital strategy play in winning back younger audiences?

✔️ How can you create impact on a minimal budget?

Watch for practical insights every public sector leader and communications team can use — whether you’re facing a crisis or building public trust from the ground up.

Subscribe for more stories of public sector transformation and innovation www.digitalgovawards.com

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