The NSW Government has recently released AI Guidelines to encourage the responsible use of generative AI by the public sector workforce. These guides help the government balance innovation with safety, while keeping pace with a rapidly evolving technological landscape.
We spoke to Daniel Roelink, Director of Digital Strategy and Architecture in the Digital Strategy, Investment and Assurance (DSIA) team, to answer our questions about the new AI Guidelines.
What is generative AI – and why should we care?
Generative AI (Gen AI) is a term that refers to any form of artificial intelligence that can generate new content, including text, images, video, audio, or code. Gen AI is rapidly being integrated into many of the applications we commonly use and will only become more widely used.
“Generative AI is still in its early days, but we haven’t seen a disrupter like this since the advent of the internet,” says Daniel. “We know that this type of technology is going to have a huge impact in the public sector as it rolls into our day-to-day workforce tools.”
Why do we need AI Guidelines?
Gen AI can enhance productivity in the public sector workforce by supporting everyday tasks such as writing, research, and more. However, it’s crucial that public servants are made aware of the risks associated with Gen AI so they can use these tools safely. This includes safeguarding sensitive information and fact checking the sources for any Gen AI created content.
“The AI Guidelines are there to help us start to educate and build awareness around how we can safely and responsibly use Gen AI tools. New South Wales’s approach to any emerging technology is to put ethics and safety first.”
- Daniel Roelink, Director of Digital Strategy and Architecture, DSIA
What’s in the AI Guidelines?
The AI Guidelines contain definitions and practical resources to help public servants safely harness AI tools in government. The four guides currently available are:
A common understanding: simplified AI definitions from leading standards features AI terms in accessible language for use in NSW Government.
Generative AI: basic guidelines has guidelines for working responsibly and ethically with Gen AI.
Chatbot prompt essentials is a practical guide to communicating with chatbots.
Cyber Security NSW generative artificial intelligence guide. offers concise tips to enhance cybersecurity when utilizing Gen AI chatbots.
What are the benefits of using Gen AI in the public sector workforce?
The biggest benefit of using Gen AI in the public sector workforce will be increased productivity. “Productivity is going to see the biggest improvement, particularly with the integration of Gen AI into our daily workflows,” says Daniel.
“We’re going to see up to 40% productivity gains depending on the task, which means you’ve got that extra time to focus on the things that really matter,” Daniel notes. He clarified that while using Gen AI will increase workforce productivity, it’s not a replacement for jobs or human oversight.
What are the risks of using Gen AI?
Some of the risks of using Gen AI involve protecting sensitive information, avoiding bias in data, misinformation, and cyber security risks. The government has taken and will continue to take extensive steps to reduce these risks.
It’s important to note that Gen AI has inherent bias, as it’s working off biased data and information. This bias can extend to gender, social, racial, political, and religious discrimination as the tools amplify the stereotypes from the social norms within the dataset of the country it’s trained on.
“We must understand how we use these tools to remove some inherent biases that exist within them. For example, if you’re working on a policy for nursing, some chatbots will generate examples where the case studies are always female,” says Daniel.
While you can prompt these tools to remove some of the bias by the way that you interact with them, careful consideration is still needed from the user of the tool. The AI Guidelines can help you navigate this, especially the Generative AI: basic guidelines.
“Part of the AI Guidelines is about starting to build that awareness of how we can best interact with the tools to get a better result and remove bias and discrimination,” says Daniel.
How can public servants use Gen AI safely and responsibly?
The public sector workforce is encouraged to stay curious about how the responsible use of Gen AI can help increase their productivity and improve their work.
The Cyber Security NSW generative artificial intelligence guide is an important document to help navigate the cyber security risks possible with Gen AI. It’s also imperative that public servants using AI avoid inputting any sensitive or personal information. “Don’t over complicate things, just think of generative AI as an open forum. Avoid sharing sensitive information, personal details, health information, or commercial in confidence data,” says Daniel.
We all have a responsibility to use Gen AI in an ethical and safe way. The new AI Guidelines can help assist the public sector in maximising the benefits of Gen AI while reducing risks.
For more practical resources and definitions visit Chatbot prompt essentials