Dutch government considers using AI to reduce external hiring of IT staff
The Dutch government can save on the hiring of external IT staff by replacing some of the work with technologies such as AI. This is what researchers advise in a report commissioned by the government.
The Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations, Judith Uitermark, states in a letter to Parliament that expenditure on external hiring must be brought back into line with the Roemer standard. This standard states that external hiring may account for a maximum of ten percent of total personnel expenditure. The government is currently far above that. A lot is being hired, especially in the field of IT. According to the minister, this concerns 44 percent of personnel IT expenditure.
The government therefore commissioned research into how the government can reduce expenditure on external hiring. ABDTOPConsult advises in its research to reduce the external hiring of IT staff in particular. The use of ‘new technologies’, among other things, can help to reduce the need for personnel, the research agency states. “By reusing data and using AI, processes can be deployed increasingly better and more efficiently. Some organizations are already using AI to provide faster and better answers to citizens.” Minister Uitermark writes that it is initially up to the individual ministries and their implementing organizations to determine exactly how external hiring will be reduced. However, she does say that she will continue to monitor whether a reduction takes place. If that does not happen, it may still be decided to take ‘additional measures’.