‘AI is here now’: Public servants readying for a permanent shift
Saturday, 14 February 2026
AI is here - whether we like it or not. Government Chief Digital Officer Paul James has rolled out plans to modernise Government, increase AI uptake and accelerate AI adoption as part of the public service’s AI work programme. The Post went to James - who is also the boss at Internal Affairs - to tell us what it means for public servants’ jobs.
The public service has been given its clearest signal yet on AI.
“The key thing I want to stress to all public servants is, AI is here now, it is only going to grow in terms of its use and impact in the public service. We need all public servants to see that, understand that, and engage with it,” Government Chief Digital Officer Paul James said.
James’ job as chief digital officer is to set the direction and give support across the public sector on all things technology and digital. “My role is to make sure that it's common, it's consistent, it's coherent.
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“For the public service to continue to deliver for the public of New Zealand, to stay relevant and operating in the expectations the public have, we're going to have to engage with AI.
“We understand lots of people have concerns about AI. That's why we've got very clear frameworks, guidelines, rules, all aimed at legal protections … and also acknowledge people's concerns about potential workforce impact, and they may well be real.”
AI is already being used across the public service.
“At DIA, we've got Microsoft Copilot running, so we've got the free version available to all staff inside here, but it only operates inside our environment.”
But the impact on jobs hasn’t hit the public service yet, he said.
“If that starts to happen, we've got good systems across the public service in terms of retraining [and] finding other opportunities for people as well,” he said.
There have been warnings around the world of the disproportionate impact AI is having on entry level jobs.
“We've seen no evidence of that in the public service,” James said, “because AI is not being deployed at that scale in that way at this point”.
“It might get here, but my experience in the public services is, it’s really diverse. There's lots of different jobs. We've had lots of change before, including digital, it did displace employment, but there are new jobs created.”
Alarm bells have been ringing over the constricting fiscal environment that could affect the public service. New technology and digitising government have been touted by those at the top as a way to offset that.
But when it comes to AI, how much will that save New Zealand’s public service?
“The million dollar question,” James said.
“There's not a lot of data points yet, so it's all promise, as opposed to delivery.
“Because we haven't got evidence of exactly what could be achieved or saved, it's very hard to then forecast.”
But James said the opportunities AI creates - with its scale, speed and accuracy - mean there is an opportunity to be more efficient.
Outgoing Public Service Minister Judith Collins last year announced the move to centralise Government tech procurement, with estimates the move could scythe $3.9 billion off $13b in projected technology costs over the coming five years.
“AI absolutely will drive down the costs of operating but it's going to take some time to get there,” he said.
“It's essentially delivering efficiency at the moment. Things are quicker and simpler, but it's not having the impact in terms of really having big cost savings.
“It's going to be about big core operating systems and the service delivery systems and the processing inside departments and the use of AI in those.”
His advice to public service leaders? “In five years’ time we will all be using AI, it will be in all of our work. Look back now. What do you need to start doing to prepare?“
“We've got to do this in a way that's secure and confirms privacy. Otherwise it will become a big problem, because it's a really powerful tool. It will help the public services, but if we lose the trust and confidence [of] the public, [that] will be a big problem.”