Posted on: 10/04/2025

Thought Leadership

AI is already in the public sector. The question isn’t if we adopt it, but how. Siloed adoption creates uncertainty—so we must lead with intention. Like the wind, AI is powerful. Let’s build windmills, not walls. The future is about using AI to serve the public good, stay ethical, and lead with purpose.

Michelle O'Neill Principal Consultant OD, Leadership and Learning at West Midlands Employers

Right now, across the public sector, AI is knocking on our walls. As we try to hold it back, AI is finding ways to sneak in without us knowing exactly where! So, the question is no longer whether AI will enter our organisations but instead, how we choose to welcome it in. Too often, AI adoption starts in pockets - an automated chatbot here, a note taker there without a collective conversation about its purpose.

These isolated efforts on one hand are a great sign that people are curious but on the hand, can create silos, uncertainty, and even wider resistance. What if, instead of reacting to AI as something to keep out or up with, we approached it as something to harness with intention? This is the heart of #buildawindmill - the idea that we don’t fight the wind, we use it. AI, like the wind, is a force that will shape our world.

We can either let it blow chaotically through our systems or build the structures to turn it into something meaningful, purposeful, and wise.

Asking how instead of if

Before we talk about tools, we need to talk about where AI belongs in our organisations. Not just in IT teams or efficiency projects, but in the bigger picture:

• How can AI free up people to focus on what matters most whether that’s human care, quality education, or community well-being?
• Where can AI amplify human judgment rather than replace it - helping leaders see patterns, predict needs, and make fairer decisions?
• What does AI need from us in governance, in ethics, and in culture to serve our mission, not just our bottom line?

These are the conversations that shape responsible, strategic AI adoption, rather than reactive, fragmented experimentation. And they need to happen at the top table, with leaders, teams, and communities together - not in silos.

Leading with purpose, not panic

It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by AI.

The pace of change is dizzying, and public sector organisations don’t have the luxury of trial-and-error at scale. But the best way to prepare for an AI-driven future isn’t to panic and follow tools being used by others or resist the introduction altogether but to lead with curiosity, clarity, and collaboration.

Instead of: what AI tools should we be using?

Let’s ask: what outcomes do we want to improve, and how could AI help us?

Instead of: how do we keep up with everyone?

Let’s ask: how do we shape AI to serve our public well? Instead of: will AI replace us? Let’s ask: how do we use AI to strengthen the human expertise at the heart of our services?

Now Is the Time to Start

AI won’t wait for us to be ready. It will continue to scale, and we will continue to feel further distanced. But we do have a choice in how we approach it: reactively, in scattered experiments or strategically, with purpose and wisdom. We work with public sector leaders who want to continue their AI journey as a people-led one, an organisational one. They want to continue it the right way with intention, alignment, and clarity. Not by jumping into tools, but by shaping the conversation, sparking curiosity and building capability. If you’re ready to build windmills, not walls, let’s talk.