Building AI leadership with the AI Center for Government™

On March 25, 2025, the Partnership for Public Service convened AI leaders from across the public and private sectors to mark the formal launch of our AI Center for Government™. With founding support from Microsoft and Google.org, we’re expanding our Center into the nation’s hub for empowering public sector leaders as effective users and smart regulators of AI. 

Speakers at the event explored how government can best leverage AI’s potential and offered three main recommendations for using AI and automated intelligence to support program delivery.  

Start with a defined problem 

Public service leaders who are passionate about adopting AI tools should do so for specific projects.  

Natalie Buda Smith, director of digital strategy at the Library of Congress, encouraged attendees to “start iteratively.”  

“Pick a core workflow and determine how to fit an AI service in that workflow. Then, have your staff think through how to make that workflow more effective,” she said.  

By beginning with a use case, leaders can promote creativity, test solutions and quickly begin to influence mission-critical initiatives.  

Empower learning 

As AI adoption continues to move at the speed of trust, public servants must lead with empathy and outline clear guardrails when deploying AI tools.  

Nishant Shah, Maryland’s senior advisor for responsible AI, recommended agencies help staff gain comfort with AI by “making it very clear where you can move fast and get tools in people’s hands.” For more complex initiatives, Shah recommended prioritizing prototyping and structured governance pathways. 

Since AI literacy may vary from team to team, speakers noted that day-to-day use of AI can increase a colleague’s openness to AI adoption. 

Build a team of early adopters and AI champions 

One-way leaders can promote AI literacy across their organizations is by building teams that readily adopt AI and recognize its usefulness.  

Successful leaders must “be bold and build a team that can help rationalize the AI investments [they] are about to make,” according to New York City’s Chief Technology Officer, Matthew C. Fraser.  

As implementation begins, this cohort of early adopters can assuage concerns of those less familiar with the technology and celebrate the small wins necessary to build a strategic investment in AI.  

Next Steps: Stay connected 

Now more than ever, government employees need a trusted partner to help move the needle on AI adoption.  

For decades, the Partnership has served as a resource for public-service professionals who seek best practices for making government more effective. With the launch of the AI Center for Government, the Partnership is building on this track record. 

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