Artificial intelligence is reshaping the dynamics of the Italian public administration, offering new opportunities to improve efficiency, service quality, and decision-making capabilities.
However, for this transformation to be truly effective, a strategic approach is required—one that enhances infrastructure, skills, and data quality. The discussion between Chief Technology Officers and Data Managers during Forum PA 2025 highlighted that AI adoption in the public sector is not just a technological challenge but also a cultural and organizational one, requiring an integrated and long-term vision.
Table of Contents
Skills and Digital Culture as a Strategic Lever
According to experts at the CTO & Data Manager Roundtable, artificial intelligence will generate value in public administration only if accompanied by professional and cultural growth. Public entities are ready to experiment with innovative solutions but often lack full awareness of the ultimate objectives of their projects.
Managing data and intelligent systems requires introducing new specialized professional roles—still rare today—and a structured plan for training and talent attraction. Strengthening internal skills is therefore a priority to responsibly govern AI tools.
Governance and Infrastructure in the Digitalization Path
Migration to cloud infrastructures, while enhancing the technological capabilities of public entities, also introduces new management complexities.
Experts agree on the need to adopt a multi-level governance model that facilitates the sharing of resources and knowledge among administrations, especially medium and small-sized ones. The digital evolution of public administration requires interoperable systems, simplified processes, and enabling platforms aligned with cloud-first principles and digitalization guidelines established by national regulations and European directives.
Data Centrality for Reliable AI Systems
Data quality and standardization are essential prerequisites for the development and implementation of artificial intelligence. Without reliable data, projects risk losing effectiveness, negatively impacting decisions and services offered to citizens.
For this reason, public administration must build data governance platforms focused on transparency, security, and interoperability, in line with open data principles and European regulations. Strengthening the data culture is a critical step to ensure the long-term sustainability of AI solutions.
Technological Sovereignty and Shared Models
A major topic of discussion is technological sovereignty, understood as the public sector’s ability to develop and use AI systems based on certified national or European infrastructures and data. A shared approach could reduce costs, fragmentation, and dependency on external providers, while facilitating the replication of successful models.
Some countries, such as France, have already implemented sovereign infrastructures with positive results—a model considered applicable in Italy to ensure continuity, security, and sustainability of digital initiatives.
Towards an “Augmented” Public Administration: The Role of AI in the Future of Public Services
Artificial intelligence, alongside machine learning and other emerging technologies, will increasingly be integrated into administrative processes to automate repetitive tasks, enhance decision-making effectiveness, and personalize services within a citizen-centric paradigm.
The years 2025 and 2026 will see accelerated development in strategic areas including interoperability, automation, cybersecurity, and exploration of multimodal models based on collaborative ecosystems. An “augmented” public administration will leverage relationships, skills, and technologies to become more efficient and closer to the needs of the community.
