Prime Minister Hon. James Marape says 2026 will mark a major transition year for Papua New Guinea, with the Government moving decisively to use artificial intelligence (AI) and information and communications technology (ICT) as core tools to strengthen governance, transparency and efficiency across the public service.
The Prime Minister said the Government will begin positioning AI as the “engine room” of government decision-making, supporting critical functions such as public service recruitment and selections, contract awards, project proposal assessments, policy development and the overall performance of government systems.
“Next year, we will begin positioning artificial intelligence as the engine room of government decision-making,” Prime Minister Marape said.
“This includes public service recruitment and selections, contract awards, project proposal assessments, law and policy development, and improving the efficiency of government systems overall.”
Prime Minister Marape said AI and ICT would be used to support merit-based decision- making, reduce human bias and help eliminate long-standing governance challenges such as personal preferences, corruption, nepotism and manipulation of systems.
“Our objective is to move decisively towards a merit-based society,” he said. “Technology will help us remove subjectivity and strengthen fairness in how decisions are made.”
He said the use of AI would assist government agencies to better assess qualifications, experience, performance and compliance against clearly defined criteria, while maintaining human oversight and accountability.
The Prime Minister noted that this direction has been consistently outlined in his previous public statements, including his Independence address, and forms part of the Government’s broader digital transformation agenda.
“This is not a new idea. I spoke about this direction in my Independence address and in other national forums,” he said. “What changes now is that we move from policy intent to active implementation.”
He said 2026 would be a transition year during which frameworks, safeguards and pilot systems would be established to guide the ethical and effective use of AI across government, stressing that technology would be used to assist decision- makers rather than replace democratic processes.
“This transition is about building trust in public institutions,” Prime Minister Marape said.“When systems are fair, transparent and data-driven, confidence in government increases.”
He said the Government’s commitment is to use technology to strengthen governance, uphold merit and deliver better outcomes for Papua New Guineans.