Everyone knows that artificial intelligence (AI) can improve efficiency and productivity – but how do you get started and get your team excited about it? Several city and state officials have an answer: Get your team trained and find those who are excited about it.
Speaking at the Google Public Sector Summit in Washington on Wednesday, officials said engaging the workplace in getting AI-ready and adapted and using metrics to track AI’s impact are key to success.
“There’s an old African proverb … ‘if you want to go fast, go by yourself, but if you want to go far, go as a group,’ right? AI is a go as a group topic. It’s not about being speedy, cutting a ribbon, patting yourself on the back … This is about a once in a generation shift as to how people are computing,” said Ted Ross, chief information officer for the City of Los Angeles.
“You have got to train. This is your golden opportunity as government, to take a workforce … and to launch them into the future. There’s only going to be more AI tools, whether you’re using Google Workspace or you’re finding it embedded in the other apps. People need to build AI fluency,” Ross added.
Ken Zellers, commissioner for the State of Missouri, said that a key part of the learning process is finding the right people to create momentum, or as he put it, the “real influencers,” who help state employees get excited about AI training.
“You have to make sure that when you start the training, you don’t just provide … introductory training to the people that are on the front line or the people that are at the top. You have to make sure that you infiltrate the whole system,” Zellers said.
In Missouri state government, Zellers said mid-level administrators empowered with hands-on training were the influencers who sparked adoption across 17 departments. They grew a network of more than 200 “super users” and drove demand for more licenses.
Eventually, everyone will need to adopt AI tools at work, but it’s important to engage detractors with empathy, Ross advised.
“They’re already using AI, and they don’t know it – but you’ve got to have ways of how to approach the detractors, and I think [it’s about] being respectful and … at the same time helping them understand that it is a season change and it’s going to affect everybody,” he said.
Beyond training and technology, Tony Oralndo, general manager of specialty sales for Google Public Sector, said AI success also depends on collaboration and a willingness to adapt.
“In today’s interconnected world, our ability to work together, across agencies, across states and even across continents – it’s no longer a convenience. It’s really becoming mission imperative,” Orlando said.
“The opportunity is truly as big as it gets, and the AI agents truly are the next frontier,” he added.