Jane Edwards
Kristen Vaughan and Britaini Carroll of Accenture Federal Services wrote in a Nextgov article published Wednesday that the federal government should prioritize reskilling the workforce to prepare them to work in tandem with artificial intelligence-based platforms.
Vaughan and Carroll called on federal leaders to initiate conversations with employees about AI.
“This includes giving workers a primer on what exactly artificial intelligence is, how it will be leveraged in their IT modernization and the timeline for implementation. Training starts with education and explaining strategic intent of Human + AI in supporting the mission,†they wrote.
They discussed how implementing a human-centered design approach to AI deployment could help agencies transform business processes.
“AI can also mitigate unexpected capacity surges in citizen demands for information and services, as it is currently being deployed by numerous state unemployment agencies. AI-driven chatbots can answer frequently-asked-questions from massive volumes of callers, handle calls during off hours, and help sort complex tasks requiring staff or management attention,†they added.
Carroll and Vaughan also cited examples that could help agencies promote workforce reskilling for AI. These include a “pop-up†workshop launched by the Federal Cybersecurity Reskilling Academy and the National Science Foundation’s “Career Compass Challenge,†which encouraged the public to come up with designs for employee training initiatives.
Vaughan is managing director of the human capital practice at Accenture Federal Services, while Carroll is principal director for workforce transformation at the company.
