Some future public servants could be robots, the Queensland government has hinted.

The state’s new digital strategy Digital 1st has been launched this week, revealing plans to become a leader in digital government in coming years.

The plan rides on four core priorities - people, connectivity, collaboration, and trust. It also outlines a further eight principles intended as “guiding values” to inform decision-making.

The eight principles move towards a ‘digital by default’ approach: unified digital experiences, secure by design mindset, sharing by default, change management and inclusion, building and harnessing digital skills, and experimentation.

The report indicates an interest in “blended workforces”, with trials of humanoid robots as part of its workforce.

The Department of Transport and Main Roads has been trialling ‘Pepper’ - a humanoid robot - in its service centres this year.

This and more tests are designed to “develop a solid foundation on which to make informed choices and play a key role in shaping the direction for adoption and integration of robotic technology into our future workplaces and communities,” the department says.

The State Government signed off on a proof-of-concept program for Pepper and NAO bots as part of its Advance Queensland initiatives late last year.

The trials will see robotic applications developed for use in government customer service centres and in the education sector, as both teaching aids, and for learning within the curriculum.

“Innovation is accelerating as technologies such as robotics, cloud, big data, the internet of things, artificial intelligence and machine learning are transforming the economy,” the strategy states.

“We want to seize the opportunities these technologies bring, to make it easier, faster and cheaper for businesses to engage with government.”