Image Source: @ott-velsberg/LinkedIn

The GovTech 4 Impact World Congress is coming this May and promises to be a central stage for GovTech innovation. As the event draws near, we had the opportunity to interview one of the speakers for this year’s congress – Ott Velsberg, Chief Data Officer of the Estonian Government. In this exclusive conversation, Velsberg cuts through the noise around AI and digitalization to address what he sees as the real challenge facing governments today: not whether the technology exists, but whether institutions can adapt fast enough to use it well. Read the full interview below… 

What are the most pressing challenges governments are facing right now in terms of adapting to technology and all digitalization processes?
The biggest challenge is no longer whether technology exists. It is whether governments can adapt themselves fast enough to use it well. In many countries, the real bottlenecks are institutional rather than technical: legacy processes, fragmented data, outdated governance models, risk-averse cultures, and lack of internal capability.

At the same time, expectations from citizens are rising. People compare public services not only with other governments, but with the best digital experiences they have anywhere. Governments therefore need to modernize not just individual services, but the underlying operating model of the state. That means better data governance, stronger digital infrastructure, clearer accountability, and much more strategic leadership around AI and emerging technologies. Often times this means restructuring organisations, rethinking existing roles and functions.

What do you think government leaders are struggling with most when it comes to turning technology into real impact?
I think many leaders struggle not with understanding that technology matters, but with translating it into organisational change. Buying technology is the easy part. Redesigning processes, changing incentives, building trust, and measuring impact is much harder.

Too often, governments still treat digitalization as an IT issue rather than a core governance and policy issue. Real impact happens when technology is connected to clear public value: better decisions, faster services, more efficient use of resources, and stronger trust. That requires leadership that is willing to rethink how government works, not just digitize existing bureaucracy.

Estonia is currently pursuing a major ‘AI Leap.’ As Government CDO, what is the most important lesson you’ve learned about moving AI from small-scale pilots to a permanent, system-level part of how the state makes decisions?
The most important lesson is that pilots do not scale on enthusiasm alone. If you want AI to become a permanent, system-level capability, you need to build the foundations around it: data quality, legal clarity, governance, institutional ownership, talent, and infrastructure.

In Estonia, we have learned that AI cannot remain a collection of interesting experiments. It has to be embedded into the machinery of the state. That means moving from isolated use cases to shared components, common standards, reusable infrastructure, and clear rules on accountability and transparency. In other words, scaling AI in government is not primarily a technology challenge. It is a state design challenge.

Give a short sneak peak into your session — why should people come and listen?
My session will focus on what it actually takes to move from ambition to implementation in government AI. Not in theory, but in practice. I will share how Estonia is approaching this transition: what is working, what is difficult, and what governments need to do if they want AI to deliver real public-sector impact at scale. If you are interested in how to build a more proactive, data-driven, and truly AI-enabled state, I think the discussion will give both strategic ideas and practical lessons you can take home immediately.

What made you decide to get involved with the G4I Congress this year, and how does its focus on ‘Impact’ differ from other global tech forums?
What attracted me is exactly that focus on impact. There are many forums where the conversation stays at the level of vision, hype, or technology trends. Those discussions are useful, but they are not enough anymore.

What matters now is implementation: how do we actually use digital tools and AI to improve state capacity, public services, economic competitiveness, and trust? G4I stands out because it puts the emphasis on outcomes. It asks not just what is technologically possible, but what creates real value for governments and societies. That is the right question for this moment.

What kind of people do you think would benefit most from attending G4I? / Who is G4I Congress for?
G4I is especially valuable for people who are not satisfied with abstract conversations about innovation and want to understand how transformation can actually be delivered. That includes government leaders, digital ministers, chief data and AI officers, public-sector innovators, policy makers, technologists, and also private-sector actors who want to work seriously with governments. In short, it is for people who want to shape the next generation of the state, not just observe it.

For those still on the fence about coming to Madrid: What is the one conversation happening at G4I that they simply won’t find anywhere else?
The conversation you will find at G4I, and rarely in this combination elsewhere, is the one about how governments can reinvent themselves in the age of AI while still preserving trust, democratic legitimacy, and human control. A lot of events talk about AI. A lot of events talk about government modernisation. But very few bring together the people who are actually trying to operationalise both at the same time: turning AI into a working part of the state while asking what kind of state we want to build in the first place. That is the really important conversation.

What are you personally looking forward to the most coming to Govtech 4 Impact Congress?
Most of all, I am looking forward to the quality of the conversations. The most valuable part of these gatherings is often not only the formal sessions, but the exchange between people who are all dealing with similar questions from different angles: how to scale innovation, how to build institutional capacity, how to govern AI responsibly, and how to make the public sector more effective.

I am especially interested in hearing how other governments and partners are approaching implementation, because we are at a point where learning from each other matters more than ever. The challenges are shared, but so are many of the solutions.