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.

• 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

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

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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.

• 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

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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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