Federal CIO Greg Barbaccia on AI-ready federal talent

Greg Barbaccia, Federal Chief Information Officer, discussed integrating AI into federal workforce development, emphasizing the need for technical competency as a core skill. His office leads AI sprints across agencies, mandating the use of general chatbots and LLMs, with over 3,600 use cases last year and expectations of doubling. Barbaccia highlighted the challenge of siloed HR systems and the need for a unified view of the workforce. He noted the government’s opportunity to deploy AI at the pace of the private sector, releasing AI policy memos to guide responsible adoption and operationalization. The goal is to create a more flexible and effective civil service workforce.