Opinion Europe

Public Sector and Artificial Intelligence

The UAE’s bold plan to automate half of its public sector with agentic AI highlights a path for Greece to overhaul its bloated bureaucracy, cut costs, and boost transparency for a stronger economy.

Apostolos Kritikopoulos Columnist - Informatics Specialist (PHD)

APRIL 30, 2026 AT 12:08 PM Updated: May 17, 2026 6:14 AM

The Public Sector and Artificial Intelligence

Something truly historic recently happened in the United Arab Emirates: the prime minister there announced an unprecedented goal—to transform 50 percent of public sector functions within just two years into a system based on agentic artificial intelligence (Agentic AI).

This represents a radical restructuring of the state itself, with a clear aim to eliminate bureaucracy and drastically reduce the bloated public sector.

Agentic AI constitutes a revolutionary technological development that operates proactively and independently performs tasks with impressive speed and accuracy. Essentially, it acts as a “digital employee” working tirelessly and with great precision.

In public administration, this translates into an incorruptible and highly efficient mechanism capable of replacing time-consuming and often ineffective procedures. Its role is particularly crucial in combating corruption.

In an environment rife with delays, clientelism, and opacity, artificial intelligence systems operate with absolute consistency. Every decision is recorded, every action monitored, and every deviation immediately detected, thus creating a reliable institutional framework where corruption is drastically limited.

At the same time, the acceleration of processes is remarkable. Actions that today require weeks or even months can be completed in minimal time. Issuing permits, processing applications, and tax administration turn into fast and seamless functions, essentially upgrading the everyday lives of citizens.

In Greece, the need for such a breakthrough is obvious. Despite the decade-long debt crisis, the public sector remains particularly large. According to available data, approximately 700,000 to 800,000 employees work in the public sector, representing more than 20 percent of the workforce. At the same time, thousands of new hires have been approved just for 2026, a fact that keeps the fiscal burden high.

This bloated and often inefficient public sector is one of the most serious burdens on the Greek economy as a whole. Public expenditure reaches 48 percent of the Gross Domestic Product according to recent OECD reports, excessively straining the state budget with high wages, pensions, and social benefits funded by the taxes of citizens and businesses.

The adoption of autonomous artificial intelligence could act as a catalyst for deep reform, reducing costs, limiting corruption, and speeding up procedures.

Greece must seriously consider such examples and move forward decisively. A fast, transparent, and effective state is a necessary prerequisite for a strong economy and a sustainable future.

Apostolos Kritikopoulos

Dr. Apostolos Kritikopoulos was born in 1974, is married, and has three children. He holds four university degrees: a PhD in Informatics from the Athens University of Economics and Business, a Master's degree in Management of Techno-Economic Systems from the National Technical University of Athens, a Master's degree in Information Systems Engineering from the University of Manchester, UK, and a Bachelor's degree in Informatics from the University of Piraeus. He has extensive professional experience in the financial and banking sector as an Information Systems Director. He completed 18 months of military service with the 2nd Paratrooper Squadron in Aspropyrgos.