Four ways AI could disrupt the federal public service

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The federal government is working to launch Canada’s first artificial intelligence strategy for the public service. While experts say it’s a positive step, they have concerns about how AI could ultimately affect public servants.

Earlier this year, Treasury Board President Anita Anand announced that the government was planning to launch the first-of-its-kind AI strategy. It has since held a summit and consultations with dozens of bargaining agents and industry and society organizations.

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The government is now holding public consultations on its strategy, which it expects to release in spring 2025.

Here’s everything you need to know about how AI could impact the public service.

AI could impact public servants’ jobs

In recent years, the ranks of the public service have grown significantly. But many of those jobs may be threatened by generative AI.

Former clerk of the Privy Council Michael Wernick said this is something the federal government has not been very candid about.

He said the public service is “a collection of 60 or 70 professions” and that greater use of the technology could lead to “disruption and displacement of jobs and probably shedding of jobs.”

While AI could help speed up human resources processes like classifying jobs, writing job descriptions and letters of offer, there is “a very large community of public servants who work on that,” said Wernick.

Wernick said AI might be able to make those processes go an “awful lot faster and with fewer people.” But he added that it could also cut back on the large number of consultants who work on these processes.

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Jennifer Carr, the president of the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada, said it’s important that the government be transparent about whether there is a need to retrain staff or if it expects job losses.

Carr said it’s better to upskill current employees than lay them off and rely on outside consultants.

“If they’re no longer coding, are they security specialists? Are they able to work on networks?” Carr said. “The base skills are there, they just need a little bit of upskilling so that they can meet those new demands.”

But could AI improve productivity?

There has been a lot of talk about productivity among public servants this fall, as the federal government has required them to return to the office for at least three days a week, despite the fact they have argued they can be more productive from home.

Meanwhile, Anand is also set to kick off a study that will examine productivity in the public service.

Experts say AI could give productivity and efficiency in the public service a boost, helping improve services and reduce human error. It could also help synthesize data used for scientific research conducted by government scientists.

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“Changes to public service, particularly in streamlining processes, enhancing decision-making and improving citizen engagement, can result in fostering a more efficient and responsive government to Canadians,” said Keith Jansa, the CEO of the Digital Governance Council, a non-profit that took part in the government consultation process.

At the same time, Jansa said it’s important that the government maintain or control over its computing infrastructure while making use of cloud services and third-party providers. He noted the importance of being transparent, ethical and accountable in the development of AI algorithms for the public service.

If not designed responsibly, Jansa said it could fuel fraud, cybersecurity risks and increased inequalities.

“It can help us but we need to make sure that it’s amplifying our capabilities without compromising our values,” said Carr, whose union represents government scientists.

Others warned that there are some government functions where AI shouldn’t be used, such as criminal sentencing, asylum claims and national security considerations.

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“It’s also important to understand that failing to use these modern innovative tools such as AI can be a threat to Canada as well,” said Nick Schiavo, the director of federal affairs with the Council of Canadian Innovators, which also took part in the consultations.

A lack of oversight could lead to bias, security issues

Another potential problem is that any decisions taken by AI, Carr said, could be inherently biased.

“If you feed in hetero, white, cis information, then it’s not going to be able to make those decisions for Latina women with disabilities,” Carr said. “We want to make sure that when they are using AI, especially when it comes to things like benefits or anything that would have an impact on services to Canadians, that we would be able to have a mechanism for people to object or to ask for more information.”

Carr said she believes the government should create an ombudsperson or commissioner to oversee government organizations’ use of AI to avoid potential errors or security and privacy issues. She said the government must continue to consult with unions as it develops its plans.

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Employee bilingualism requirements could disappear

Given the increased use of generative AI that’s already happening, including within the federal public service, Wernick said he believes the government’s requirements about staff bilingualism could become a thing of the past.

“Google translate or DeepL or some of the other language models are getting you faster and more accurate translation of text and documents and simultaneous interpretation of conversations and meetings,” Wernick said.

Wernick said the whole construct of training people to be bilingual or multilingual may soon be out of date, adding that about a third of public servants currently need to be bilingual. He said that, in turn, would impact bilingual bonuses and rules around hiring.

“Why would you need to train somebody to speak French or English if they could if the technology is there for instant translation and interpretation?” Wernick asked, adding that public-facing jobs where bilingualism is needed are becoming fewer due to services being offered on the internet. “Why do we need to spend millions of dollars on translation services?”

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