Training: Leveraging AI for Improved Governance in Karnataka (One-Day Workshop)

Organized by: Karnataka AI Cell, Centre for e-Governance, Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms (e-Governance), Government of Karnataka, in collaboration with Public Affairs Foundation (PAF)
Venue: Public Affairs Centre (PAC), Jigani Campus, Karnataka

The one-day workshop, "Leveraging AI for Improved Governance in Karnataka," was organised to strengthen the capacity of Karnataka Government officials in understanding and applying Artificial Intelligence (AI) within public administration. Conducted at the Public Affairs Centre (PAC), Jigani Campus, the programme responded to the growing need for government institutions to adopt AI-driven technologies for improving governance, public service delivery, policy formulation, administrative efficiency, and citizen engagement. The initiative was conceptualised under the guidance of Dr. S. Sadagopan, Member of the Board of Directors of PAC and former Director of IIIT-Bangalore, and brought together experts from IIIT-Bangalore, REVA University, and the Government of Karnataka's AI Cell. The workshop aimed to bridge the knowledge gap between emerging AI technologies and governance by equipping officers with practical knowledge of Artificial Intelligence, Generative AI, and prompt engineering. The training adopted an interactive and application-oriented methodology, combining expert lectures, demonstrations, practical examples, and discussions on real-world governance use cases. Sessions introduced participants to the foundations of AI, Machine Learning, Generative AI, and Large Language Models while explaining their capabilities and limitations, including concerns relating to bias, hallucinations, and responsible AI use. Participants also received hands-on exposure to prompt engineering techniques and demonstrated how AI tools could be used for drafting official correspondence, preparing reports and presentations, summarising documents, analysing information, and improving routine administrative workflows. Additional sessions explored India's AI ecosystem, highlighting national initiatives, emerging AI startups, and sectoral applications across healthcare, agriculture, finance, and public administration. Discussions on governance-focused AI applications showcased examples of AI-enabled improvements in service delivery, grievance redressal, data management, and administrative transparency. The workshop concluded with a dedicated session on responsible AI adoption, emphasising ethical principles, accountability, transparency, data privacy, and legal compliance for public-sector implementation. The programme successfully enhanced participants' awareness of AI's potential in government and encouraged its practical adoption across departments. Officials identified numerous opportunities to integrate AI into their work, including improving record management, supporting welfare programme implementation, strengthening agricultural services, enhancing public administration, preparing proposals and presentations more efficiently, improving data analytics and visualisation, addressing workforce constraints, and streamlining routine departmental functions. Participants also recognised the importance of adopting AI responsibly and highlighted its potential to improve governance outcomes while ensuring fairness, transparency, and citizen-centric service delivery. Overall, the workshop marked an important step towards building AI readiness within Karnataka's public administration and supporting the state's broader digital governance agenda.