15/10/2025
Helft van de Gemeentemedewerkers Gebruikt AI op eigen Initiatief: Gemeenten lopen Risico met Gevoelige Burgerdata
Alkmaar, 14 oktober 2025 – Nederlandse gemeenten maken in toenemende mate gebruik van AI, maar doen dit vaak zonder duidelijk beleid of training. Ruim de helft (55%) van de ambtenaren gebruikt AI-tools op eigen initiatief, zonder formele richtlijnen of ondersteuning. De risico’s hiervan zijn groot, evenals de zorgen van Nederlandse gemeenten: 90% vreest voor datalekken of gebrekkige dataveiligheid. Dat blijkt uit nieuw onderzoek van Uniserver onder IT-beslissers van Nederlandse gemeenten, uitgevoerd door onderzoeksbureau Motivaction.
Only half of Dutch municipalities have an AI policy
Uniserver, The Dutch market leader in sovereign private cloud and AI conducted research into the experiences, needs, and obstacles of IT decision-makers in municipalities regarding the use of AI. The figures reveal a clear tension: AI is being used, but policy is lagging behind. For example, more than half of municipal employees are using AI on their own initiative, without clear guidelines or support from their employer. Only 55% of municipalities say they have developed a policy for AI use, and an equally large group supports their employees with training or education.
"AI use is growing faster than policy. In municipalities, we often see AI applications emerge from the bottom up: fast, creative, but uncontrolled."
says Ralph Kootker of Fuse AI, Uniserver's sovereign private AI platform.
"This creates opportunities, but also risks, especially if citizen data ends up in systems outside the organization's control."
No insight into how AI handles citizen data
Concerns about AI use within municipalities are high, and not without reason. 90% of IT decision-makers working for municipalities and semi-governmental organizations are worried about data breaches or inadequate data security. At the same time, there's a lack of transparency: 63% say they don't have a clear understanding of how AI tools handle citizen and organizational data. This lack of insight increases the risk of unintended errors or the inappropriate use of sensitive information. Moreover, 81% doubt whether their AI use complies sufficiently with laws and regulations, such as the upcoming EU AI Act.
Municipalities are motivated to improve AI use
Although most civil servants use AI on their own initiative, the majority (60%) of IT decision-makers working in municipalities and semi-governmental organizations state that data and legislation must be in place before AI can be rolled out more widely. Many municipalities are working on improvements and are motivated to take steps to align their AI use with legislation. 53% are actively investigating the implications of the EU AI Act for their organization, and 64% intend to update their policy with the AI guidelines by 2026. Six in ten also indicate that they will have existing AI systems audited for risks and biases.
"Losing trust happens faster than building it. That's precisely why it's so important that they know exactly what happens to that citizen data when AI is deployed."
says Ralph Kootker.
"We see that municipalities prioritize control over speed, but there's a pressing need to keep up with innovations. Legislation like the EU AI Act is on the horizon, and citizens must be able to trust the transparent, secure, and fair use of their data. AI solutions running within a secure, Dutch infrastructure, such as private or sovereign AI, prevent sensitive information from slipping outside the organization's control."
Research accountability
The study on digital autonomy and how organizations manage their data and digital infrastructure was conducted by Motivaction on behalf of Uniserver. The survey was completed by 1023 IT decision-makers, 78 of whom work in government. This group was sufficiently large for a meaningful analysis of AI use in the public sector. The fieldwork was conducted between August 13 and 22, 2025.
About Uniserver
Uniserver is the market leader in Dutch sovereign private cloud solutions and has specialized in reliable and secure digital infrastructure for 25 years. From a fully Dutch-based environment, the company offers scalable solutions that empower organizations working with critical data to grow independently. With Fuse AI, Uniserver also delivers private AI within a protected, sovereign Dutch environment, ensuring future-proof applications with complete data control.
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Uniserver offers with Fuse AI a private AI solution specifically developed for organizations that want to innovate without compromising on privacy, control or compliance.
Curious about how Fuse AI fits your organization? In the inspiration guide you will find concrete example use cases for different sectors, explanations on how it works, and how you can safely use AI on your own terms.
