BEYOND TECHNOLOGY. INSTITUTIONAL LEARNING AS THE DRIVER OF AI TRANSFORMATION IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR

Abstract

This article examines artificial intelligence as a genuine transformative force for public administration, but argues that its ultimate effect depends not so much on the availability of technology as on the degree to which institutions have adapted to a new environment of work, learning, and decision-making. AI readiness is understood not as technical availability, but as the organizational capacity of institutions to build strategic clarity, internal rules, expertly differentiated competencies, and a culture of continuous learning. The article draws on international academic literature and management frameworks that show that successful adaptation to AI in the public sector requires a combination of competencies, management practices, leadership, and an institutional culture of learning. The empirical section draws on data from the Artificial Intelligence Readiness Index in Public Administration, developed by the Institute of Public Administration. The analysis shows that the Bulgarian administration is in a capacity-building phase, but the more important conclusion is that readiness is asymmetrical. There is interest in AI, a high need for training, and human potential for development, but the organizational environment lags behind in terms of leadership, internal rules, vision, and institutional structure. This finding is interpreted through the concept of absorptive capacity, which reveals a discrepancy between the potential for absorption and the actual ability to apply it. The comparison with Croatia confirms that this pattern is not isolated but fits into a broader European context of early adaptation, in which interest in AI outpaces managerial and regulatory readiness. The main conclusion of the article is that the missing piece of the AI transformation puzzle in public administration is institutional adaptation, underpinned by a culture of learning. Organizations that know how to learn, share knowledge, build trust, and translate technological change into intelligent management are the ones that will derive real value from AI. Organizational readiness and a culture of learning are not external prerequisites for AI transformation. They are its very essence.