Over the last couple of years, we have seen an increased push from local and state governments to recruit people from the technology industry as layoffs in private industry grow the available talent pool and as municipal government technology departments attempt to keep up with new technologies. With the quick advancements of AI-powered technology, these departments are starting to look specifically for people who can assist in the development of AI processes, manage AI procurement, and advise on AI policy decisions for the public benefit. This new cohort of tech-to-government civil servants will act as guides to governments across the country that are trying to navigate the unknowns of emerging technology. While this initial group will be trailblazers in their own right, for both them and the government to succeed this group will need to learn the intricate nature of how governments function, how to communicate effectively about complicated topics, and how to advocate for themselves and for responsible AI use in government.
Aspen Digital and the Aspen Policy Academy are developing a new program for Rising Civic AI Leaders, aimed at increasing the impact of newly-hired state and local government employees in charge of managing the responsible adoption and implementation of AI-driven tools. This program will provide a foundation to learn the hows and whys of government bureaucracy while also enabling this group of leaders to build a community across the country with others who are navigating similar challenges. Additionally, this program will incorporate strong mentorship, connecting new public sector employees with those in civil society working on multi-stakeholder efforts such as public AI and information integrity.
This brief report lays out the case for the Rising Civic AI Leaders program, based on original research performed by Aspen Digital. In the last 6 months, we studied AI policies and interviewed people in state and local governments as well as civil society in order to understand how to approach the mammoth task of preparing governments for the use of AI. We wanted to explore the question: how are states thinking about incorporating AI, and how are they staffing to support that work? We found that governments are either still in or just beginning to come out of the learning phase of investigating what role (if any) AI should play in the day-to-day operations and systems of government. Some have begun to incorporate AI in small ways such as summarization tools, while others are turning their attention to partnerships with major companies to integrate AI into multiple departments.
To manage this, we have seen across the board an urgent need to train existing technology employees on the basics of AI while future use plans are formalized. Many local and state governments will (or have already in some cases) hire staff specifically to lead the evolution of AI’s role in government. This will be an entirely new subsector of government work and most of the people who will fill these roles—due to the early development of this line of work—will come from the private sector. As a result, this group will have to learn what success means in a completely new environment while their employers are still figuring out how AI fits in. While it seems like a daunting task, these civil servants will have the opportunity to build the foundation of AI for government use which could define how their government operates for years to come.