A Bigger Question
As public sector professionals experience the changes that AI implementations are making to their jobs, people begin to wonder about the broader, long-term impacts of AI. Larger-scale changes like shifts in the emerging workforce’s skill sets, disappearing roles, and organizational restructurings are likely to follow.
Traditional entry-level positions in the public sector are often built around administrative tasks that AI is increasingly able to support. Much of the role’s work is ensuring that the organization runs smoothly: scheduling, document management, and most importantly, communication and correspondence. AI is already assisting with all these tasks to varying degrees.
Many organizations are quite keen on adopting AI into their workplaces as it promises advantages such as productivity and efficiency. As AI adoption continues, the responsibilities associated with many roles are expected to evolve. However, it is unsure of the degree to which the roles will evolve, and whether eventually certain entry-level positions will be phased out entirely.
This shift is important as entry-level administrative positions offer far more than just back-end organizational support. They provide new public servants with the opportunity to get involved in public sector work and gain experiences that form the foundation on which future policy analysts, managers, directors, and executives build their careers. This raises questions about how organizations can continue providing opportunities for new professionals to develop the knowledge, judgement, and experience traditionally gained through entry-level roles.
What the Experts Say
In June 2026, IPAC members gathered for a timely discussion on AI deployment in the public sector, featuring speaker Graham Dobbs and moderator Anita Palcich. The interactive session offered participants a valuable opportunity to explore the emerging technologies and understand the current AI-integration climate, with time for participants’ questions to be addressed.
During the discussion, Graham mentioned that AI would have a “70% impact on tasks” in public service positions. This statistic prompted many public servant participants to express a common concern about whether AI would reshape, or even eliminate, entry-level positions.
Graham offered a balanced perspective in his response. While acknowledging a recent decline in demand for entry-level positions, he reassured participants that the disappearance altogether is not foreseeable. As alluded to by private-sector organizations beginning AI adoption, entry-level roles will not be replaced, but rather be altered to fit the current climate.
Graham emphasized that human judgement would remain essential for identifying inaccuracies, providing context, and making decisions. He reassured participants that AI is a program running on 0s and 1s. At its core, AI is meant to support data summarization and cannot replicate the communication that is essential to many administrative roles.
Consequently, the next generation of new professionals will likely require more AI training as they will help facilitate AI use within organizations. Reskilling the upcoming workforce will require a stronger focus on AI and data literacy to critically evaluate machine- generated output. Therefore, successful implementation of this technology will depend on human-centered digital transformations, where people’s judgment remains at the core.
The Human Factor
Reflecting on her journey as a New Professional in the public sector, Julia Bilinski shared an optimistic view on AI’s role in the workplace:
“AI cannot replace the human experience, but it may support our work when appropriate guardrails are in place".
Rather than viewing AI as a replacement for administrative workers, Graham and Julia agree that it can be a tool to enhance productivity in the workplace when paired with human oversight. This is especially true in the public sector, where critical thinking, ethical judgement, communication, and empathy are core to every position. So, these essential but often overshadowed skills can now be emphasized for newcomers entering the workforce as they learn to navigate AI tools responsibly.
This raises an important question for public sector organizations: as AI changes the nature of entry-level work, how can they continue to provide meaningful opportunities for new professionals to build the knowledge, judgement, and experience needed for future leadership roles? In many administrative roles, new professionals gain insight through tasks like stakeholder communication and creating reports. Through this exposure to new networks and insightful conversations, new professionals begin to understand policy processes and organizational culture. The discussion highlighted that entry-level work continue to provide valuable opportunities to build judgement, institutional knowledge, and practical experience that can support future leadership in the public sector.
The Human Factor
AI is already changing the way public servants work, and its capabilities will continue to evolve. The question now shifts from whether AI will influence the public service workforce to how organizations will respond to the shift.
A key takeaway from the discussion was that successful AI adoption will require thoughtful workforce planning that preserves opportunities for learning, mentoring, and professional development while leveraging AI to enhance productivity. It is hard enough for new professionals to feel confident and prepared when entering the workforce, and creating more barriers to their success will only hinder the development of capable future leaders.
Preparing this next generation will also require educational institutions to facilitate training in responsible AI governance, data literacy, and technical adaptability. Success will not come from choosing between people and technology, but from ensuring they evolve together.
As the workforce continues to evolve, IPAC remains committed to gathering public servants, researchers, and emerging professionals to explore the opportunities and challenges shaping the future of public administration. Whether helping seasoned professionals navigate the latest AI technology or reducing barriers for aspiring public-sector professionals to feel confident and prepared coming into their careers, we are dedicated to building a stronger public sector together.