About this episode

The episode discusses the implementation of AI in public administrations and the importance of maintaining public trust.

Governments are moving from discussing artificial intelligence to deploying it. But what does responsible AI look like when it is used inside large public administrations, across real services, using real people’s information? In Episode 3 of Statistics in the AI Era, OECD Chief Statistician Steve MacFeely speaks with New York State Chief AI Officer Eleonore Fournier-Tombs, about the practical work of implementing AI across government while maintaining public trust. They discuss the emerging role of Chief AI Officers, AI use cases in public service delivery, code modernisation and geospatial analysis; the data governance foundations needed for AI; and how risk assessments, acceptable-use policies and human oversight can make responsible AI operational. The conversation also explores workforce impacts, the importance of upskilling and consultation, and the need for a governance model that gives agencies room to experiment while ensuring the highest-risk use cases receive extra scrutiny. Host: Steve MacFeely | Chief Statistician, Statistics and Data Directorate, OECD LinkedIn | www.linkedin.com/in/steve-macfeely-a1a710112/ Guest: Eleonore Fournier-Tombs | Chief AI Officer, New York…

People in this episode

Host: Steve MacFeely

Guest: Eleonore Fournier-Tombs

Topics covered

• AI governance
• public sector
• data governance
• responsible AI
• public trust
• workforce impacts

Keywords

• artificial intelligence
• public administration
• data governance
• risk assessments
• upskilling

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: OECD

Places: New York State

More episodes of OECD Podcasts

• Making good data easier to find and use with Google's Prem Ramaswami · June 21, 2026 · 29 min
• AI and the future of official statistics with André Loranger - Chief Statistician of Canada · June 16, 2026 · 30 min
• Fuel, fear and flights: How the tourism sector learned to withstand global shocks · April 3, 2026 · 19 min
• Life, the universe and Data Governance with OECD Chief Statistician Steve MacFeely · February 24, 2026 · 38 min
• Labels matter: Putting people over profit · January 23, 2026 · 19 min
• COGITO Talks… What in the World is the Tropical Economy? · December 22, 2025 · 23 min

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the OECD Podcasts podcast page.