We are entering the Intelligence Age in which technologies like AI and robotics are transforming our ability to problem solve.1 These technologies are giving governments at both the national and local level a whole new set of tools to tackle critical challenges such as climate change, weak productivity growth and overstretched public services. 

While technology has long been used to deliver more seamless access to public services and more data-informed policy decisions,2 in the Intelligence Age technology will help us create whole new ways to meet human needs. New domains of growth are forming as organisations join forces across industry boundaries to pioneer new ways to care for, feed, make, build, and power our society. 

For example, as advances in technology open the door to new forms of personalised healthcare, a new domain of care is beginning to form that brings together government health agencies, technology companies, pharma, and digital commerce firms to offer preventive healthcare to citizens at scale.  

How we feed ourselves – from food security to agriculture policy – could be transformed. For example, PwC is helping to create an AI-driven intelligence platform that can help governments and food providers to anticipate and manage threats to national food security with greater agility and precision. 

What’s more, AI could help to support a broad set of governments’ goals to provide better lives for their citizens - if AI’s potential to increase productivity and fuel economic growth is fulfilled. Early signs are positive. PwC’s AI Jobs Barometer found that sectors more able to use AI are already seeing 5x higher productivity growth. 

The vast potential of technology is well-known to many in government. However, successful use of these technologies can be undermined by factors from weak digital infrastructure to an erosion of public trust in AI. Here are two keys to help manage these challenges and realise the full potential of the Intelligence Age to benefit society:  

Here is the first key: develop regulatory systems and policies that enable tech innovation and adoption. A common misconception is that any form of government regulation can stifle innovation. In reality, well-designed regulatory frameworks and strong public policy accelerate technology innovation and adoption by enhancing structure, trust, and stability. Here are some key ways that regulation can achieve these effects:  

Regulation builds trust. AI adoption is much higher among organisations who have confidence that AI is effectively regulated.3 Without solid regulatory frameworks, public trust in AI can erode over concerns about bias, data security, and social impacts. Well-crafted policies can support AI use that is transparent, fair, and accountable. Governments can further support public trust by educating citizens on the benefits and supporting workers to gain the skills to succeed in an AI era. 

Regulation can encourage AI investment. Regulation can increase market stability and mitigate risk - which in turn increases investor confidence in committing capital. In addition, policies can help to ensure responsible use and prevent a backlash against potential negative impacts of AI such as the more rapid spread of disinformation. Finally, regulation reduces legal and compliance risk by creating clarity around the boundaries of AI use.  

Regulation can encourage maximum productivity gains. Regulation that encourages the use of AI to augment rather than replace workers is key to enabling AI to generate the greatest possible gains in productivity, economic growth and broad-based prosperity -  maximising AI’s benefits to society while supporting public trust.4 

Here is the second key: provide the physical foundations – from critical materials to infrastructure - on which digital technology runs. As digital technology progresses, the physical world – perhaps paradoxically – will become more important, not less so. Intelligence Age technologies rely on data centres, chips, servers, critical materials like lithium, and huge amounts of energy. For example, many large data centres demand electricity equivalent to that consumed by some cities. 

Competition for physical resources and energy is likely to become more acute as climate change accelerates, the global population grows, and geopolitical tensions potentially rise. To help their citizens gain the full benefits of Intelligent Age technologies, governments can seek to support a robust, sustainable, cost-efficient supply of the physical foundations of AI and other technologies.  

For example, forthcoming PwC research shows that accelerating climate change could disrupt a third of the global chip supply within a decade. This finding underlines the wisdom of government actions to secure chip supplies such as the EU Chips Act or South Korea’s “K-Semiconductor Belt” strategy aimed at building the world’s largest semiconductor supply chain by 2030. 

In conclusion, the Intelligence Age isn’t just about smarter technology – it's about reimagining how we solve problems. Government leaders who act decisively to regulate Intelligence Age technologies, safeguard their physical infrastructure, and foster investment and innovation will help to unlock the technologies’ full powers to benefit citizens.