AI, Sovereignty, and the Future of Public Service episode artwork

EPISODE · May 14, 2026 · 34 MIN

AI, Sovereignty, and the Future of Public Service

from Civic Punks · host Derek Alton

Governments around the world are trying to make sense of AI in real time. Some are experimenting, some are regulating, some are cautiously poking it with a stick from a safe distance. In this episode, our global government innovation panel compares what we are seeing across different countries and systems. We talk about how AI is changing public sector innovation, why digital sovereignty is becoming such a big deal, and what all of this means for the people who actually make government work. Because the future of government is not just about better tools. It is also about power, trust, capability, and the role of public service itself. Panelists Angela Galeano Futuro Publico Demos Helsinki Brian Whittaker Humans of the Public Service Luke Cavanaugh  Interweave Tony Blair Institute Links and things mentioned Innovate US - Is providing AI Training for the government Diella - Albania's AI Minister, who is actually an AI Latam-GPT — a Latin American initiative to develop a language model built in the region Visio - Government of France's sovereign alternative to Microsoft Teams Making AI Work for the Public: An ALT Perspective by New America Taking the Pulse of Public Benefits AI: Top 3 Reflections from PBIF’s Summer Open Call by Center for Civic Futures The Phoenix Project by Gene Kim, George Spafford, and Kevin Behr DOGE done better by Geoff Mulgan G7 GovAI Grand Challenge

Governments around the world are trying to make sense of AI in real time. Some are experimenting, some are regulating, some are cautiously poking it with a stick from a safe distance. In this episode, our global government innovation panel compares what we are seeing across different countries and systems. We talk about how AI is changing public sector innovation, why digital sovereignty is becoming such a big deal, and what all of this means for the people who actually make government work. Because the future of government is not just about better tools. It is also about power, trust, capability, and the role of public service itself. PanelistsAngela Galeano Futuro Publico Demos Helsinki Brian Whittaker Humans of the Public Service Luke Cavanaugh  Interweave Tony Blair Institute Links and things mentioned Innovate US - Is providing AI Training for the government Diella - Albania's AI Minister, who is actually an AI Latam-GPT — a Latin American initiative to develop a language model built in the region Visio - Government of France's sovereign alternative to Microsoft Teams Making AI Work for the Public: An ALT Perspective by New America Taking the Pulse of Public Benefits AI: Top 3 Reflections from PBIF’s Summer Open Call by Center for Civic Futures The Phoenix Project by Gene Kim, George Spafford, and Kevin Behr DOGE done better by Geoff Mulgan G7 GovAI Grand Challenge

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AI, Sovereignty, and the Future of Public Service

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This episode was published on May 14, 2026.

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Governments around the world are trying to make sense of AI in real time. Some are experimenting, some are regulating, some are cautiously poking it with a stick from a safe distance. In this episode, our global government innovation panel compares...

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