AI in the service of the bureaucracy – changing digital work environment as robot colleagues become part of everyday life

The goal with this project is to contribute with knowledge that support RPA implementations in the public sector so that they lead to good bureaucracy and good a digital working environment. In the project, an open access digital service will be designed, to support AI and RPA implementations in the public sector.

Summary

The public sector in Sweden is in the midst of a technology shift that profoundly changes public administration. Working tasks previously not subject for digitalisation are now being performed by RPA, AI or self-learning systems. RPA stands for Robotic Process Automation, which basically means that software robots imitate human employers way of performing administrative work. Opportunities for improved working environment, improved administration, and increased quality of bureaucracy are drivers of these implementations. The research project aim to study the implications that follow RPA implementations.

Through a case study in Halmstad municipality, where about 30 RPA-implementations are planned, the researchers will follow implications for the digital working environment and how the interplay between human and digital workers develop. Moreover, the implications for human working tasks, the work content and the division of roles, organising and management will be researched. The RPA implementations will also be evaluated from a value perspective, that is if the RPA implementations lead to the expected improvements.