How to Build a Well-Rounded AI Workforce.

• Author: Griffiths, Jose-Marie
• Position: COMMENTARY

Most conversations about artificial intelligence talent in the government focus almost exclusively on top engineering talent.

The National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence believes that recruiting highly skilled engineers is important, but it is only a small part of the AI workforce the government needs to integrate AI in national defense.

The commission, in partnership with the Defense Innovation Board and the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center, has re-envisioned a workforce model that includes individuals across the spectrum of technical and leadership skills. This model will help the government identify more of the workforce questions it needs to answer, and to develop a more holistic approach. Almost all problems are, at their foundation, people problems. Struggling organizations don't have the right people, don't have enough of the right people, or are not providing the right people the resources and training they need. Regardless of its other efforts, the government will fail to adopt AI solutions if it does not build a competent, adequately resourced AI workforce.

Some of the "people problems" are already emerging. Most federal departments and agencies struggle to effectively collect, store and use data. Few have sufficient computing power available, and very few can create the interdisciplinary teams needed to apply AI solutions to complicated problems.

As a result, government organizations that attempt to use AI encounter obstacles that increase expenses, add bureaucratic friction and delay adoption timelines.

These obstacles are the product of many issues, but first among them is not having the right workforce. The government will be able to collect, store and use data more effectively when it has more data scientists and software engineers. It will have more computing power available when it has computer scientists who can identify what the government needs and acquisition specialists who understand what to purchase and how to purchase it.

Equally important, a well-trained workforce will better understand when to purchase commercial solutions for immediate implementation and when to develop custom software.

Building a workforce to integrate an emerging technology into a massive bureaucracy is not a simple task. An overhaul of this scale and complexity requires the government to reinterpret how it views its workforce.

Three principles below from the commission's workforce model will help it do so.

First, not all AI...