Algorithmic Bureaucracy: Managing Competence, Complexity, and Problem Solving in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

Abstract

In recent years, local government is undergoing changes which are strongly influenced by the growing digitization of governmental operations. Key features of Digital Era Governance (DEG) appear to be displacing features of the New Public Management (NPM) and are also challenging some underlying aspects of Weberian bureaucracy in public administration. In this paper, we expand on the concepts in DEG and its successor, Essentially Digital Government (EDGE), by introducing the concept of Algorithmic Bureaucracy, which looks at the impacts of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on rationalization and the socio-technical nature of public administration. We report on a mixed-method study, which focused on how the growth of data science is changing the ways that local government works in the UK. Special emphasis is put on how algorithms can build citizen and administrator competence and deal with complexity. Algorithmic bureaucracy, like traditional bureaucracy, is impartial in its application, but can be predictably sensitive to context. Society needs to determine the ends to which it is put and how to assign accountability in this context. We find that algorithmic bureaucracy is in its infancy in local government, so there is space to develop an appropriate ethical framework to harness the technology and enhance social problem solving.

The algocracy as a new ideal type for government organizations: Predictive policing in Berlin as an empirical case

“…Moreover, information access can be managed easily which allows better control of information flows. Vogl et al, 2019). The analysis of these huge amounts of data can be predetermined and steered to a certain degree by the developers of machine-learning algorithms whose judgements, perceptions, and beliefs enter the system.…”

Inteligencia artificial (IA) aplicada a la gestión pública

“…Una forma en que la IA está comenzando a aplicarse en el gobierno local es mediante la introducción de análisis predictivo y tecnologías de apoyo a la toma de decisiones (Vogl, Seidelin, Ganesh & Bright, 2019). Las aplicaciones de la IA podrían hacer que el gobierno trabaje de manera más eficiente y a la par que deja tiempo libre para que los empleados construyan mejores relaciones con los ciudadanos.…”

An Islamic vision and approach for entrepreneurship: developing through a multi-stage comparative analysis of systems, ideologies and code of ethics

“…The siren servers are now, perhaps, gradually replacing the human-operated bureaucratic system, a Stage 3 system in Hollingsworth's framework, which has been used by megacorporations to make rational and objective decisions (Bullock, 2019;Vogl et al, 2019). It is still debatable whether AI-driven siren servers will completely replace all bureaucratic functions or not (Tagmark, 2018).…”