Public Value-creation Through Application of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in COVID-19 Management: Policy Lessons from India
| Published date | 01 March 2024 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/00195561231204937 |
| Author | Vishal Katekar,Jeevan Kumar Cheruku |
| Date | 01 March 2024 |
Public Value-creation
Through Application
of Artificial Intelligence
(AI) in COVID-19
Management: Policy
Lessons from India
Vishal Katekar1 and Jeevan Kumar Cheruku1
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic had posed significant challenges for public health sys-
tems worldwide. Countries had been experimenting with innovative solutions to
address the crisis. Artificial Intelligence (AI) has emerged as a promising technol-
ogy in this regard, with its potential to improve disease detection, contact tracing,
and vaccine distribution. The Government of India had administered more than
1,000 million vaccines in a short period since the outbreak of COVID-19, that is, in
March 2020. The government harnessed the potential of AI for providing services
to citizens during this uncertain time. This article aims to explore the potential
of AI in creating public value in the context of COVID-19 management in India.
The analysis is based on primary and secondary sources such as research articles,
reports published by government and non-government organisations, online data-
bases, and discussion papers. The findings of the study suggest that AI played a
critical role in enhancing the effectiveness of COVID-19 management in India. The
application of AI has led to significant improvements in disease surveillance, diag-
nosis, and treatment, thereby creating public value. The study highlights that the
assimilation of AI-enabled services increases the citizens’ participation and over-
all satisfaction and enhances public trust in the government initiatives. The study
recommends for a supportive policy environment which fosters innovation and
collaboration between stakeholders in leveraging AI. The study also highlights the
need for a robust regulatory framework which ensures data privacy and security.
Keywords
COVID-19, Artificial Intelligence (AI), AI-enabled public services, public value,
public policy
Article
Indian Journal of Public
Administration
70(1) 63–81, 2024
© 2023 IIPA
Article reuse guidelines:
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DOI: 10.1177/00195561231204937
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1 Department of Public Policy, Law and Governance, Central University of Rajasthan, Bandarsindri,
Ajmer, Rajasthan, India
Corresponding author:
Vishal Katekar, Department of Public Policy, Law and Governance, Central University of Rajasthan,
Bandarsindri, Ajmer, Rajasthan 305817, India.
E-mail: 2019phdpplg05@curaj.ac.in
64 Indian Journal of Public Administration 70(1)
Introduction
The COVID-19 pandemic adversely impacted every aspect of human life, causing
the loss of lives and livelihoods. The governments across the globe adopted public
policy tools (Capanoa et al., 2020), such as incorporating special-purpose rules and
regulations, permissions, guidelines and safe processes (Sokolowski, 2020). They
also adopted measures like social distancing to contain the spread of the virus (Silva
et al., 2020). During the pandemic, the government was expected to reduce delays
and non-compliance to accelerate public sector-driven initiatives. However, the tra-
ditional method of identifying patterns to various patient health parameters is time-
consuming. Human presumptions and involvement may affect the quality of the
diagnosis. Integrating digital technology with public policies and healthcare systems
helps the government craft and implement strategies to ght the pandemic (Whitelaw
et al., 2020). The situation compelled the policymakers to take a trans-disciplinary
perspective incorporating governance, technology, public participation, and risk
communication in managing the pandemic. Thus, the government or organisations
adopted technologies like Articial Intelligence (AI) to intelligently deliver services
and avoid possible physical contact (Chatterjee et al., 2020). Instead of using the
traditional paper-driven methods, the application of AI seems to have promoted
quick policy response with accurate data. AI has enabled societies to move forward
in the health crisis (The Times of India, 2020); communities seemed to have become
resilient to the pandemic when the government adopted AI and data science to effec-
tively mitigate the emerging adverse health situation (Gupta, 2020).
Public value refers to the positive outcomes or benets that are created for citi-
zens and society through the actions, policies, and programmes of government. It
is a key principle in public administration and emphasises the importance of gov-
ernment serving the needs and interests of its citizens. The present study aims to
explore the potential of Articial Intelligence (AI) in creating public value in the
context of COVID-19 management in India. The study’s signicant nding is that
the application of AI creates value to public service delivery in both health and
non-health-related emergencies in India. AI technology plays a vital role in iden-
tifying unvaccinated citizens by public authorities. AI created trust among
citizens to get vaccinated by providing personalised communication, optimi-
sing vaccine distribution, developing predictive models, and detecting fraud.
AI-enabled authorities to provide real-time updates, monitor hotspots, contact
tracing, enabling telemedicine, and optimising vaccine distribution. By improving
communication and taking proactive measures, AI has helped build trust between
authorities and the public, increasing citizens participation and satisfaction. Thus,
the study highlights that the AI-enabled services during COVID-19 pandemic
increases citizens’ participation and satisfaction, resulting in public-value-
generation. The ndings of this study may be helpful for organisations and poli-
cymakers in developing a digital-governance model for targeted service delivery.
The integration of AI with public policy has the potential to create reliable, sus-
tainable and future-oriented digital governance.
This article is divided into six sections. The second section deals with the
research methods followed in conducting the research. The third section provides
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