Global experts gathered in Khankendi, Azerbaijan, for the SOCGOV 2026 forum to debate the future of digital governance, with a stark warning: most governments are deploying artificial intelligence without knowing whether it actually improves citizens' lives.
According to OECD data cited at the conference, more than nine in ten governments worldwide have integrated AI into public services, but only 28% measure its real-world impact. Nijat Hajikhanov, a data management specialist at Luxembourg's National Data Service, called this an “AI adoption gap” and urged a more disciplined approach.
“It is not about jumping into what AI tool, infrastructure, or technology to adopt,” Hajikhanov said. “It is more about what problem we are going to solve.” He recommended a four-step framework: identify the problem, establish a baseline, intervene, and measure outcomes.
Azerbaijan's ASAN Service model takes centre stage
Azerbaijan showcased its ASAN Service model, a digital public services framework launched in 2012. Ulvi Mehdiyev, chairman of the State Agency for Public Service and Social Innovations, said 52 countries are studying the model, and more than 600 service centres worldwide have been built on its principles, serving roughly 800 million people.
Anar Aliyev, Azerbaijan's minister of labour and social protection, highlighted the DOST Agency, which offers 164 service categories through a single-window system and has digitalised over 90% of its offerings.
Turkey's e-government gateway, launched in 2008, now has nearly 70 million registered users, with social security services alone recording over one billion annual clicks, according to Labour Minister Vedat Işıkhan.
Greece's social security agency, e-EFKA, is using AI to clear administrative backlogs while keeping complex cases in human hands. Governor Alexandros Varveris explained that AI handles straightforward decisions, while staff manage cases requiring judgement.
Risks of bias and inequality
Several speakers cautioned that automation without oversight risks encoding existing inequalities into welfare systems. Mehmet Ali Varol, a data science manager at Doğuş Teknoloji, noted that AI inherits the biases of its designers. “This technology comes from us,” he said. “It is also injecting some of the biases, some of our perspectives, into this technology.”
Christian Fillet, chair of the European Social Network, warned that poorly governed digital transformation in welfare services “can reinforce inequalities, introduce bias in decision-making, reduce human oversight.” He added: “Smart governance is not only about smart systems. It is about fair outcomes, transparency, accountability, and human dignity.”
Marcelo Abi-Ramia Caetano, secretary general of the International Social Security Association, praised the integration of AI for DOST Social Awards 2026 into the main programme, calling it “a valuable platform to recognise innovative applications of artificial intelligence that can contribute to better social services.”
The forum underscored a growing European concern: as AI becomes ubiquitous in public administration, the focus must shift from technological adoption to measurable, equitable outcomes. For more on how technology is reshaping the continent, see our coverage of AI's impact on markets and Azerbaijan's economic diversification.
