To err is human. So, to prevent erring, can we give the responsibilities of running a government to a machine? To a robot? To a form of higher intelligence that is capable of mitigating losses and increasing profits?

We talk to Siri, Alexa and the likes of it every day. They help organize our lives and help us do things better. Large public corporations are using Artificial Intelligence to streamline processes. Amazon, a world leader in customer experience innovation, has restructured the organization around its Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning capabilities. Called Flywheel, Amazon’s AI management strategy (dubbed internally as Amazon Virtuous Cycle) is an economic engine that uses growth and scale to improve the customer experience through intense curation and lower cost.

Governments are responsible for healthcare. Good healthcare translates to a reliable workforce, a thriving economy. AI provides assistance not only with the diagnosis but also in the treatment of patients. It detects illness faster and with better accuracy through the history of a patient’s electronic health record (EHR). This is where Artificial Intelligence steps in to solve problematic healthcare challenges by using algorithms to interpret data organized by diagnosis of various diseases like Alzheimer, Diabetes, Cardiovascular diseases and various types of cancers like breast cancer, colon cancer, etc.

Artificial Intelligence can change outcomes for citizens by improving policy making and service delivery. China has long held high ambitions for AI. The State Council of the People’s Republic of China has announced its goal to become a $150 billion AI global leader by the year 2030. According to the 2018 China Artificial Intelligence Development Report, the number of AI companies in China ranks 2nd in the global market. There are 1,011 AI companies in mainland China, accounting for 20.53 percent of the world’s total. The United States has 2,028 AI companies.

Without adequate case studies, it will be hard to tell if robots will be better leaders, as the fact remains that Artificial Intelligence is still a program written by a human. We are not sure how we will treat the fallacies of an AI-based system, as much as we are open and willing to accept the shortcomings of human leaders, albeit the complaining.

That said, the best thing about an Artificial Intelligence-run government is that it can be tested and improved. The empirical feedback loop that AI systems allow make room for procedures and lay platforms for a transformation and performance improvement, paving the way for meaningful progress.