Center for Civic Futures is focused on bringing together government leaders to identify action steps for incorporating AI into the way we serve people through our social safety net services. CCF's convenings move beyond the "what are the possibilities" conversations to the "how do we make this a reality" work that's needed now. I'm grateful to be involved in this work, and also grateful for the leadership of Cassandra Madison, Marlena Medford, and the rest of the CCF crew!
Every Center for Civic Futures event I've been to has brought together leaders from across the country (and sometimes the world!) for conversations about what happens when the promise of AI is met with the realities of constrained budgets, technical debt, large government organizations, and a non-negotiable commitment to delivering quality services for residents. This month's convening of AI leaders for 35 state governments and tribes was no different. I had the honor of kicking of the day by moderating a discussion with Daniel Correa, Aneesh Chopra, and Betsy Cooper, on "What this AI Era Demands of Government." Unsurprisingly, these three talked about workforce development, strengthening relationships with the community, and promising AI use cases. I added that the answer to "how to deal with people who are anti-AI" is not to simply provide more AI, but to ensure the responsible use and development of AI -- and own the narrative there. Throughout the rest of the convening, we heard about cybersecurity implications of AI, saw examples of AI tools that provide insights into government data sets, heard directly from Sam Altman, and played a very intensive game of rock, paper, scissors. Thank you to Nikhil Deshpande and Shawnzia Thomas, MPA of the State of Georgia for being excellent hosts (and making me want to get to Georgia more often). Thanks to Cassandra Madison for the vision you've set for CCF. And thanks to Marlena Medford and the team for always making it easy to participate in CCF events!