# When AI starts to act: Alan Smeaton on the future of Government

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/transform-gov-the-digital-government-podcast-6921732/when-ai-starts-to-act-alan-smeaton-on-the-future-of-government
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/transform-gov-the-digital-government-podcast-6921732/when-ai-starts-to-act-alan-smeaton-on-the-future-of-government.md
Podcast: [Transform Gov - the digital government podcast](https://stenobird.com/podcast/transform-gov-the-digital-government-podcast-6921732)
Published: 2025-10-30T07:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://digitalgovawards.com/podcast/
Audio file: https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/6654b705d950260012df3b93/e/69020f414013c81f9aef4e04/media.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/transform-gov-the-digital-government-podcast-6921732/episodes/when-ai-starts-to-act-alan-smeaton-on-the-future-of-government
Duration seconds: 2065

## Resource

Can AI make decisions, not just suggestions? Professor Alan Smeaton — DCU researcher, Government AI Advisory Council member and builder of Ireland’s first AI teaching assistant — explains what agentic AI really means and why Estonia is blazing ahead and already using it in classrooms. He tells host Maeve Kneafsey why Ireland can’t afford to wait, how data can save citizens money, and why AI literacy must become a national skill and future economic stability and growth. [00:00] When AI starts to act   [06:00] Teaching the machines that teach us   [13:00] Estonia’s national rollout   [22:00] What is Agentic AI?   [30:00] Why AI literacy matters now Agentic AI, Artificial Intelligence in Government, Digital Government, Public Sector Transformation, Generative AI, AI Literacy, Alan Smeaton, DCU, AI Advisory Council Ireland, Estonia Digital Government, Ireland eGovernment Awards, Accenture Public Sector, Transform Gov Podcast, Ireland, Europe Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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## Transcript

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