AI in Government and Public Service

AI in Government and Public Service from the Enterprise Technology Association (ETA) is for the people who run public services: city, county, state, tribal and federal employees, school district and special district staff, and the managers and appointed officials who lead them. Agencies are short on staff and long on backlogs, and AI can help with email, minutes, comments, reports, notices and routing. It can also deny someone a benefit, publish something untrue under the government's name or leave out residents who need services most.

This course teaches where AI helps most in public service and the guardrails that matter: public records, privacy, due process, equal treatment, language access, accessibility and procurement. You finish with a capstone: an AI playbook for one real public service workflow, submitted and reviewed by a person. Completing the course earns the ETA Specialist: AI in Government and Public Service badge.

What you'll learn

• Apply public service duties (records, due process, equal treatment, transparency) to AI use, with OMB's high-impact AI definition as a worked example
• Sort agency data for AI tools and review vendor AI terms before your agency signs
• Write plain language, translated and accessible resident communication with AI, and check it
• Scope resident-facing assistants on the ETA Agent Autonomy Ladder with fast handoffs to people
• Summarize meetings, comments and reports and verify every authority
• Keep benefits, permits and enforcement decisions with accountable people, with notice, explanation and appeal
• Test for equity, publish an AI inventory entry and measure value honestly

Who it's for

Public employees and managers in local, state, tribal and federal government, school districts and special districts, and the contractors and nonprofits that deliver public services. It assumes you've completed Level 1: Foundations of the ETA Applied AI Professional Certificate (free). It is not legal advice; follow your agency's policies and the laws of your jurisdiction.

How it works

Four modules with public service examples, templates and a Try it exercise in every lesson, a knowledge check after each module, a capstone and a final assessment. About 2 hours 30 minutes. Included with ETA Pro membership and above.

Your badge and certificate

Passing the final assessment, including your reviewed capstone, earns two things: the ETA Specialist: AI in Government and Public Service badge and a certificate of completion for AI in Government and Public Service. Each has its own verification page on joineta.org, is a verifiable digital badge (Open Badges 3.0) and can be added to LinkedIn. Your badge shows on your ETA profile and stacks with your other ETA credentials: the ETA professional certificates and their levels, other ETA Specialist badges and the hours-based credentials. The course adds 2.5 credit hours toward AI Explorer, AI Empowered Professional and AI Empowered Leader.