As generative AI sweeps across industries, some workers using it are reporting increases in productivity. But inside government, where those benefits could translate into better public services, many employees are still unsure how the technology applies to their jobs, how to use it, or whether they are allowed to.

That’s one takeaway from our research at InnovateUS, a nonprofit learning initiative that has trained more than 250,000 government workers in AI, digital technology, and innovative skills. They work in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, in jobs ranging from public safety and benefits administration to legal services and executive leadership. Our aim is to give people working in state and local government accessible opportunities to develop skills that help them serve the public, and ultimately deliver services worthy of residents’ trust. 

During no-cost skill-building workshops across the country and on the web, public servants trade experiences about what works and what doesn’t. Participants have explored using artificial intelligence to improve benefits delivery with New York City’s health commissioner and learned from current and former state-government leaders how to introduce workers to using and even building AI. Recently, one state leader in Colorado described how he is using generative AI to improve performance reviews; he reported better feedback, greater worker satisfaction, reduced turnover, and time savings. These exchanges help public professionals learn from one another’s experiments and consider what they could adapt to their own agencies.

Learning together online also gives us an opportunity to listen systematically to people’s experiences with AI.

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