AI adoption in public administration: Perspectives of public sector managers and public sector non-managerial employees

Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly infusing various facets of society, including public administration. In this setting, public servants play a pivotal role in the adoption of new technologies. Using an experimental design, the present study investigated public sector managers' willingness to implement AI and public sector non-managerial employees' willingness to accept AI for various internal management purposes. Our findings point to prevailing skepticism toward AI, with a preference for AI serving in a supportive rather than a (co)decisive or fully autonomous role. Additionally, attitudes toward AI vary depending on the nature of the internal management practice, with practices requiring more ‘soft’ (interpersonal) skills eliciting greater hesitancy toward AI involvement. Furthermore, our results also highlight a subtle disparity between managers and non-managers, with managers being slightly more inclined to implement extensive AI involvement than non-managers are willing to accept, particularly for practices demanding mainly ‘hard’ (technical) skills. By providing a more nuanced understanding of AI adoption in public administration, the present study offers important theoretical and practical insights.