A new report from ai@cam, the University of Cambridge’s flagship AI mission, suggests the public conversation about AI is changing.

Drawing on a dialogue with Cambridgeshire residents, AI in Local Government: From principles to practice finds that people are no longer asking whether local government should use AI. Instead, they are asking a more practical question: where is AI the right tool, and how will it improve the public services people rely on?

The dialogue was conducted in partnership with Hopkins Van Mil and formed part of ai@cam’s AI for Local Government Accelerator. Participants first explored their hopes and concerns about AI in public services before helping to inform the development of six live research projects tackling challenges including planning, housing, fly-tipping, and social care.

Rather than evaluating the projects according to the sophistication of the technology, participants judged them according to the public value they could create. They wanted to know whether AI was addressing real problems, improving services for residents, supporting human judgement, and strengthening the systems that local government depends on.

Among the report’s findings, participants argued that AI should:

• be introduced only where it addresses a real public need;
• improve services rather than simply automate existing processes;
• complement human expertise rather than replace it;
• strengthen the underlying systems of local government rather than compensate for failing ones; and
• remain accountable to the people and communities it serves.

Jessica Montgomery, Director of ai@cam, said: “This dialogue showed that people don’t start by asking whether government should use AI. They start by asking what problem it is trying to solve. They want to know whether AI will improve the services they rely on, whether it is the right tool for the job, and how people will remain accountable for the decisions that affect them. As AI moves into everyday public services, the conversation is becoming less about technology and more about the public value it creates. Maintaining public confidence requires delivering real-world benefits.”

Neil Lawrence, DeepMind Professor of Machine Learning at the University of Cambridge and Chair of ai@cam, said: “AI gives us an opportunity to rethink how public services could work better, rather than automate today’s processes. The people who took part in this dialogue kept bringing us back to that question. They wanted AI to help solve problems that matter in their communities, not to become an end in itself.”

The dialogue involved almost 100 residents from across Cambridgeshire over two phases between November 2025 and May 2026. Participants first developed principles for the use of AI in local government before reconvening several months later to scrutinise six projects funded through ai@cam’s AI for Local Government Accelerator. Their discussions informed the projects as they developed and contributed to an ethical framework for AI in local government.

Read our report: Public Dialogue on AI in Local Government