Canberra-based technology services firm Reason Group says the real barrier to AI adoption in government is not the technology itself, but the silos, legislation, and entrenched processes that shape public sector work. As the company expands its use of ServiceNow beyond IT into HR and mission-critical functions, CEO William Scheer cautions that accountability must remain firmly human, particularly as generative AI enters the picture.
Beyond the back office
Reason Group began as a business process re-engineering company and has spent years building a deep understanding of how federal and state government operates. That background led it to ServiceNow more than three years ago, when Scheer encountered the platform during a trip to the United States. He said it was clear the tool was "much more than just an IT management tool."
The company formally joined ServiceNow's partner program about 18 months ago and has since seen rapid uptake. "It's been a bit of a rocket ship over the past year," Scheer said. Government agencies are adopting the platform mainly in back-office IT service management, but Reason Group is now implementing HR capabilities and extending into mission areas outside the back office. As agencies explore AI for Government, the need for controlled, accountable deployment becomes central.
The accountability gap
Scheer distinguishes between deterministic AI, which government already uses, and the newer generative AI. "The key difference now is human accountability," he said. "If you introduce generative AI and dilute accountability, that's a major issue, especially in the public sector, where decisions can significantly impact people's lives. You can't remove that accountability from the agency."
Traditional methods of testing and managing technology-requirements, design, and testing cycles-do not provide the same certainty with AI. Scheer said organisations need a different approach, one that treats AI more like a non-deterministic human resource. "AI is just another source of variability, but the difference is the scale and speed at which risks can emerge."
Real-time governance as a control tower
Scheer draws an analogy to cyber risk to explain the shift. Both require real-time governance rather than retrospective reviews. "You need visibility into what's happening now, not weeks later," he said. He describes a "control tower" model-like air traffic control-that gives agencies the ability to see and intervene in real time.
Governance, risk, and security functions are converging, he said, because the speed of AI and cyber threats demands consistent, real-time oversight across everything. This convergence pushes agencies to rethink how they assure technology quality and manage risk.
Untangling law from lore
Legacy systems present a technical challenge, but Scheer said overlaying new solutions to automate repetitive tasks is becoming easier. The harder part is changing the operating model-the processes, legislation, and ingrained assumptions that shape government work. He encourages teams to separate "law from lore," distinguishing what is legally required from what people simply assume must be done.
Change management relies on hands-on experience. "Giving people hands-on experience early helps shift perceptions much faster than documentation alone," Scheer said. He also suggests listing all the reasons something supposedly cannot be done, then testing those assumptions.
Why this matters for government professionals
The shift toward AI will force government procurement to evolve. Scheer noted that traditional cost-based models are giving way to value- and outcome-based pricing, and seat-based licensing is moving toward consumption models. For public sector leaders, the message is clear: demand real-time governance frameworks, treat AI risk like you would manage human variability, and focus procurement on outcomes rather than resources. "The future is already here, but not evenly distributed," Scheer said. "The challenge is understanding what this means for your business, your customers, and your people while staying grounded."
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