The Trust Deficit in Digital Government: A Conceptual Model of AI-Driven Public Services
TL;DR
The proposed model addresses the shift from human-mediated bureaucracy to black-box algorithmic execution, therefore offering public managers an ethical blueprint for designing citizen-centric digital services that align with emerging regulatory mandates like the European Union AI Act.
Abstract
This paper provides a comprehensive conceptual model examining the intersection of artificial intelligence (AI) and citizen trust within public administration. As governments transition from traditional e-government to algorithmic governance, implementing automated systems such as AI-driven chatbots, automated benefit allocation and predictive administrative routing create a significant psychological and systemic trust deficit. This research conceptualizes a threedimensional framework to analyze and mitigate this deficit with a particular focus on algorithmic transparency, decisional equity, and data security. Hence, the proposed model addresses the shift from human-mediated bureaucracy to black-box algorithmic execution, therefore offering public managers an ethical blueprint for designing citizen-centric digital services that align with emerging regulatory mandates like the European Union AI Act.