AI isn't just buzzword bingo in federal agencies anymore. It's in pilot programs, RFIs, actual statements of work. But from what I'm seeing, the agencies making it work aren't chasing the flashiest new model. They're building real frameworks around how to adopt it.
The pilots that actually seem to go somewhere start small. Something repetitive — triaging FOIA requests, summarizing case files, drafting routine correspondence. Pick something you can measure, drop AI on top of an existing process, and compare before and after. Makes sense when you think about it.
Here's the part that surprised me: explainability matters a lot. Every AI-assisted decision needs an audit trail. What data was used, what produced the output, who reviewed it. A lot of commercial tools don't handle this well, and I'm curious which ones figure it out first.
But honestly? The biggest blocker I'm seeing isn't the platform at all. It's people. Workforce confidence, leadership buy-in, change management. The tech is the easy part. Getting folks comfortable with it? That's where the real work is. And it's an area I'm personally invested in helping agencies figure out.