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A top official involved in the Trump administration’s new AI “Tech Force” initiative offered a glimpse inside the White House’s push to place AI engineers inside federal agencies and overhaul how the federal government uses technology.
“This is a public-private partnership where we’re going to bring a thousand great engineers into government to help us complete the modernization that is so important to our American people and so important to making sure that technology is a first-class citizen inside of government,” Scott Kupor, Office of Personnel Management director, said Tuesday on “Varney & Co.”
With help from companies such as Microsoft, Palantir, Salesforce and Snowflake, Kupor said the initiative is designed to embed engineers across major federal agencies rather than centralizing them in a single office, allowing technologists to work directly on modernization efforts at departments including the Treasury Department, the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of War.
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Palantir, for one, already plays a key role in integrating artificial intelligence into the Department of War, Kupor noted, pointing to the company as an example of how advanced technology can be deployed effectively inside government.
“Palantir is no doubt a leader in that area, and what we want to do is make sure that other parts of technology, other parts of AI get into government,” he explained.
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“Today, what happens is we have a very heavy reliance on contractors and consultants, as you may know. We don’t have as much homegrown talent in core AI, modern software development, and Tech Force is really intended to make sure that the government can be a first-class citizen and attract those types of individuals, just like Palantir has done in the government, but we also want to make sure that talent is resident in government long-term.”
Kupor said the engineers brought in through Tech Force will be placed directly inside agencies and supported through a structured program that includes professional development, a speaker series and engagement with private-sector partners.
He said applications for the initiative are already coming in, with the administration expecting to begin making offers within the next 30–45 days.
At the end of the program, many workers are expected to move into private sector roles, taking with them experience gained working inside the federal government.
“The whole goal is, agency by agency, [to] figure out what are all the major modernization efforts and how do we make technology, how do we make AI really important to the American people?” he said.
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