Artificial intelligence in the public sector: a study of the evolution of the academic literature

The technological and digital evolution of the public sector reinforces the idea of implementing new technologies to improve public management and the government decision-making process. Some governments, such as the United States, China, and the United Kingdom, are investing resources in the development and research of AI-based technologies. However, it is necessary to recognize the scientific and academic advances that analyze the development of AI in the public sector. Based on the above, the objective is to describe and analyze the development of AI in the public sector from the academic literature. This objective is based on the following research question: How has academic literature on artificial intelligence in the public sector evolved in its methodological, conceptual, and contextual dimensions between 2018 and 2022? To answer the question and meet the objective, an analytical strategy is used based on the systematic review of the literature and the establishment of dimensions, categories, variables, and indicators that allow classifying and analyzing the information of the 207 articles that were published between 2018 and 2022 in the academic journals that most publish works related to AI in the public sector. The results show that there is an interest by the academic community in analyzing the development of AI in the public sector worldwide. Derived from the gradual growth of research work in this area. Another aspect to highlight is the number of countries that are analyzing the phenomenon of AI in the public sector.