Today we are talking to Tom Loosemore. As co-founder of the UK’s Government Digital Service (GDS), he helped define the gold standard for how the public sector should build technology. In this episode, we discuss hiring the right people, whether AI will save the government, and why Tom is not a fan of tech bro rockstars.
We also explore:
Why the real innovation lies in service design, not technology
How most good public servants were already inside the system
What goes wrong when government outsources understanding
Why politicians are addicted to false certainty
The real meaning of “build, test, learn” in public policy
How to think about AI in the public sector—and what not to expect
Mentioned:
GOV.UK Design Principles — the foundational ethos of GDS
Public Digital — the consultancy Tom co-founded to help governments around the world build better services
Recommendations:
The Radical How by Tom Loosemore and Andrew Greenway
The Service Organization by Kate Tarling
Platformland by Richard Pope.
Lean Agile by Eric Ries
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