AI in Public Procurement, Budgeting, and Government Operations

Session Submission Type: Panel

Abstract

Public organizations are evolving as they integrate artificial intelligence (AI) into their operations. This panel seeks to understand the implications of AI adoption in public management. The papers on this panel cover important public management topics, including public procurement and budgeting, burnout, and regulation. They also explore these topics utilizing a variety of methodological approaches, including survey experiments, qualitative content analysis, and interviews. There are four papers on this panel. One paper introduces the concept of the American AI contracting state to describe how public authority over AI is exercised through procurement. Drawing on more than 600 state AI contracts and over 1,000 AI-related procurement reports, this paper maps the emerging political economy of state-level AI markets. A second paper investigates how street-level managers value artificial intelligence (AI) in their work, drawing inference on its effect at reducing emotional exhaustion and enhancing personal achievement. It uses a vignette experiment targeted for public procurement professionals to consider whether digital tools that augment discretion aid in feelings of self-efficacy, thereby reducing burnout and digital tools that automate core tasks, which may contribute to diminished emotional exhaustion but do not bolster personal achievement, do not reduce burnout. A third paper explores how state governments regulate, guide, or govern the use of AI in state and local agencies, and what differences exist across state policies in terms of the scope of AI covered, regulatory stance, and accountability mechanisms. Finally, the fourth paper evaluates how AI can mitigate each area of complexity using the Technology-Organization-Environment (TOE) framework as our analytical lens. It offers a case study of the State of Maryland's budget formulation and execution processes, drawing on interviews with staff from the Department of Budget and Management, the Comptroller's Office, and the Department of General Services, alongside a systematic review of the public budgeting and AI literature.

Policy Area

• Public and Nonprofit Management and Finance

Chair

• Daniel S. Schiff, Purdue University

Discussants

• Jeongmin Oh, Hanyang University

• Bhargavi Ganesh, University of Pennsylvania

Organizer

• Susan Marie Miller, Arizona State University

Individual Presentations

• AI and the American Contracting State - Presenting Author: Jae Yeon Kim, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

• Burnout & Digital Transformation: A Vignette Experiment in Public Procurement - Presenting Author: Emily Boykin, Augusta University

• Public Budgeting in the Age of AI: A Case Study of Maryland's Budget Process - Presenting Author: Salman Alam, University of Maryland, College Park

• Regulator and User: A Comparative Analysis of State AI Policies for Government Operations - Presenting Author: Md Abu Talha, University at Albany