National Audit Office of Finland's 2026 Audit of Government AI — 'Disorganised' Coordination, Overlapping Pilots and No Overview of AI Use

The National Audit Office of Finland published performance audit 10/2026, 'Use of artificial intelligence in central government', in June 2026. It examined whether central government organisations and wellbeing services counties have the preconditions for effective AI use.
Findings: almost all authorities have identified AI use cases and many experiments are under way, usually starting with the easiest cases; but benefits need whole-process reform across administrative branches rather than narrow projects. NAOF found coordination at government level 'disorganised', with the interministerial Coordination Group for Digitalisation lacking responsibility for resource allocation, and no comprehensive, up-to-date overview of AI use. Wellbeing services counties, supported by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health's AI ecosystem, were cited as a positive example of situational awareness.
It also found authorities developing or procuring overlapping solutions, uncertain legal interpretation (EU AI Act, data protection) leading to precautionary postponement of use cases, resource gaps between large and small organisations, and fragmented support materials.
Four recommendations went to the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Transport and Communications: improve the situational picture, define operating models for shared AI solutions, dismantle legislative obstacles, and make information steering more consistent. NAOF plans a follow-up in 2028. Press coverage reports a minister saying the public sector must move from pilots to large-scale deployment and that a common central-government AI platform is being developed.
The audit measures preconditions, not realised benefits, so evidence of impact is limited; its transferable value is the diagnostic of coordination and legal-interpretation barriers.

Read the full analysis: https://vtv.fi/en/report/use-of-artificial-intelligence-in-central-government/