Transform Gov - the digital government podcast

AI may dominate the headlines — but the real race is happening somewhere else.

Energy. Water. Data infrastructure.

On this episode of Transform Gov, Maeve Kneafsey speaks with Alice Charles, Director at Arup and former World Economic Forum infrastructure lead, about the global competition shaping the future of cities, economies and governments.

Alice explains why the AI boom is triggering what some leaders are calling the largest infrastructure build-out in history.

And why the foundations of AI are not software — but power grids, water systems and data centres.

In this conversation:
• Why the AI race between the US and China is really about infrastructure
• Why AI requires massive increases in energy and water
• Why Ireland’s climate gives it an unexpected advantage for data centres
• Why smart city projects failed when they focused on technology instead of citizens
• Why governments must move from planning to delivery

Alice also reflects on lessons from the World Economic Forum, global infrastructure investment, and the strategic decisions countries must make to compete in a rapidly changing technological landscape.

If AI is the future — the question is simple:

Do we have the infrastructure to support it?
Digital Government Infrastructure, AI infrastructure, Data centres, Energy transition, Urban development, Smart cities, Public sector innovation
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What does AI actually look like inside a local authority?

In this episode of Transform Gov, Dublin City Council’s AI Lab team — Khizer Ahmed Biyabani and Richie Shakespeare — explain how they are moving beyond AI hype to deliver practical tools that improve consistency, save time and build trust.

From preventing contradictory council answers to searching decades of records in seconds, they share what works, what doesn’t, and why 80% of AI success comes down to data.

Why Listen
How AI prevents conflicting public-sector responses
Turning 1990s PDFs into instant search results
Training 500+ staff and shifting sentiment from fear to confidence
Why data readiness matters more than the AI itself

Timeline
00:00 — What the AI Lab is and why it exists
03:30 — Why a sandbox approach matters
11:30 — Training 500+ staff and changing AI sentiment
21:27 — “Ctrl+F on steroids”: AI for council questions
22:04 — Searching records back to the 1990s
24:29 — The truth: data preparation is 80% of the work
27:00 — Building control use cases and operational impact
32:40 — Scaling AI safely in local government

AI in government, digital transformation, local government innovation, generative AI, public sector technology, Ireland eGovernment Awards, smart cities, data governance
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Quantum computing is often described as “next-generation” technology — but according to Equal1 CEO Jason Lynch, it’s much closer, more practical, and more relevant to government than most people realise.

In this episode of Transform Gov, Jason explains quantum computing in plain English, why it follows AI rather than replaces it, and how it could transform public services — from climate modelling and flooding prediction to healthcare, logistics and national infrastructure planning.

We also explore why waiting until quantum “arrives” may already be too late for CIOs, and what public-sector leaders should be doing now to prepare.

Topic timeline
00:01 – What quantum computing actually is (without the jargon)
03:10 – Why AI is hitting limits: energy, cost and sustainability
04:30 – Healthcare, drugs and why we still don’t know how paracetamol works
06:20 – Optimisation problems governments can’t solve today
08:00 – Why Equal1’s data-centre approach changes everything
11:40 – Why ESA became Equal1’s first customer
15:40 – What CIOs should be planning for now
17:50 – Quantum, security and post-quantum cryptography
20:40 – Digital sovereignty and Europe’s quantum future
25:00 – What citizens may notice in five years’ time

quantum computing explained, quantum computing government, public sector technology, digital government podcast, future of computing, AI and quantum, government innovation
what is quantum computing, how quantum computing affects government, quantum vs AI, when will quantum computing be used, quantum computing public services
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What if improving health didn’t start with another campaign telling people what to do?

In this episode of Transform Gov, Maeve Kneafsey speaks with Stephen McPeake, founder of Civic Dollars, about a practical, community-led way councils and health bodies are encouraging healthier behaviour — and actually seeing results.

Stephen explains why incentives often work better than awareness campaigns, why people push back when they’re told what to do, and how councils and health bodies are using Civic Dollars to improve wellbeing, support local businesses, and strengthen communities.

A smart listen for anyone working in public health, local government, or digital transformation.

Topics
00:00 – 01:00
Why public services struggle to change behaviour
01:00 – 03:00
A simple idea: rewarding people for time outdoors
03:00 – 05:30
How health activity turns into community impact
05:30 – 09:00
Using incentives instead of prescriptions
09:00 – 12:10
Why public health campaigns don’t work
12:10 – 15:00
Why place matters more than apps
15:00 – 19:00
How innovation gets stuck in pilot mode
19:00 – 27:00
What councils get, what it costs, and what’s next
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AI can already create near-perfect replicas of passports, utility bills and other identity documents — good enough to bypass many existing checks.
In this episode of Transform Gov, Maeve Kneafsey speaks with Dr Hitesh Tewari, Professor at Trinity College Dublin and researcher at the ADAPT Centre, about what this means for public services that rely on digital identity, from welfare and healthcare to licensing and payments.
They explore:
Why traditional KYC approaches are no longer sufficient
How fraud becomes dangerous when it becomes scalable
How zero-knowledge proof can allow verification without over-sharing data
How blockchain can support trust, not speculation
Lessons from real-world projects in energy, voting and healthcare data
A practical, risk-focused conversation for those responsible for digital public services.

Key topics
01:25 – AI-generated identity documents and KYC risk
06:30 – Why scalable fraud changes everything
10:45 – What blockchain is (and is not) for government
13:50 – Zero-knowledge proof explained simply
19:40 – Tackling greenwashing with better energy attribution
22:15 – Healthcare data, silos and trust
25:50 – What’s coming next: opportunities and risks

Digital identity, AI fraud, KYC, public sector technology, digital government, blockchain, zero-knowledge proof, cybersecurity, trust in government, ADAPT Centre, Trinity College Dublin

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