While the Greek public sector has been plagued by tedious bureaucracy for decades, making the simplest of interactions for citizens a nightmarish experience, the recent rapid implementation of artificial intelligence in Greece and the subsequent fast and streamlined results appear to be making the lives of Greeks much easier.
Greece’s shift to AI presents a compelling argument for how introducing AI “smart” applications developed to serve both citizens and employees can save time and resources.
The two digital online assistants “mAIgov” and “mAiGreece,” developed in collaboration with Microsoft, stand out as such examples.
Both simplify, facilitate, and speed up interactions between Greek citizens, visitors, and public administration. A more recent example is the use of AI in the legal review of the Land Registry, supported by Microsoft and Azure Open AI technology, making the Land Registry the first public institution to integrate this technology into its services.
According to a report by Microsoft, public servants could save up to 23 million work hours per week by utilizing AI tools.
The report, titled “Harnessing the Power of AI for the Public Sector”, revealed that 45% of employees stated they were “bogged down” by unnecessary administrative procedures, while 55% said that bureaucracy negatively affects the performance of their core duties.
The report says information and data management is the most time-consuming administrative task in the public sector, with each employee spending an average of over eight hours per week on it. Even more striking is that
The report highlights that adopting Generative AI tools could save up to two hours per week for educational staff, up to five hours per week for healthcare professionals, and up to 6.5 hours per week for public safety personnel.
Finally, the report outlines seven steps—guidelines for the safe and easy adoption of AI in the public sector, aimed at fully transforming its operations and the services it provides.
