AI projects in the public sector: an international census

Free Content Report Digital Agenda Italian Digital Agenda May 2026 23 pages pdf

What you will learn

This report presents an international census of 1.765 AI projects in Public Administration, conducted in collaboration with the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC). It maps where and how governments are adopting AI, examining application areas, project maturity, data used, governance models and ethical implications across more than 40 countries.

Table of Contents

1
Introduction
2
Overview of AI projects in PA
3
Functional characteristics
4
Applications and beneficiaries
5
Ethical dimensions

Index of Graphs

1
Definition of AI
2
Identified categories of AI
3
The AI market in Italy
4
Geographical origin of collected AI projects

You will know how to answer these key questions

What are the applications of AI in the public sector?
Which countries have the highest number of AI projects in public administration?
In which ecosystems are AI projects implemented?
In which public processes is AI most widely used?
Who leads AI experimentation in the public sector?
What characteristics do AI projects launched by public administrations have?

The methodology used in this Report

This report is based on an international census of Artificial Intelligence projects in public administrations, conducted by the Digital Agenda Observatory of Politecnico di Milano in collaboration with the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC). Data collection combined systematic monitoring of information sources through Feedly, exchange and cross-validation with the JRC Public Sector Tech Watch dataset, and documentary research on government databases, public innovation portals and project repositories. The census includes 1,765 projects carried out between 2018 and 2025 worldwide: Europe 1,184 projects, America 410, Asia 132 and Oceania 32. The analytical framework covers project identification and maturity, responsible entities, COFOG classification, application areas, technologies adopted, type of data used, objectives pursued and ethical implications across 11 dimensions.

Authors