AI, Risk, and the Future of the Federal Workforce with OPM Director Scott Kupor

The federal government is competing for technology and cybersecurity talent at the same time AI is beginning to reshape how that workforce operates. OPM Director Scott Kupor argues that meeting both challenges requires more than new tools or recruiting campaigns: government needs a personnel system that better reflects how people build careers today, rewards performance and adaptability, and creates room for responsible experimentation.

Kupor joins Frank Cilluffo to discuss Tech Force and the push to bring more early-career technologists into public service; why he believes agencies should focus on practical, near-term AI gains rather than long-range plans that may quickly become obsolete; and what his years in Silicon Valley taught him about risk, execution and talent. They also explore what Washington and the technology industry misunderstand about one another—and why U.S. economic and national security increasingly depend on getting that relationship right.

Main Topics

Tech Force and two-year tours of public service Recruiting cyber and technology talent into government The federal government's early-career workforce gap Performance, merit and tenure in federal employment AI productivity and the changing federal workforce AI literacy and the continuing role of human judgment "Permissioned innovation" and responsible risk-taking Execution, adaptability and decision-making under uncertainty What Washington and Silicon Valley can learn from one another Key Quotes

"I think every person coming out of high school or college, hopefully we can convince them spending 2 years in government is good for the country and good for them. It's really that simple." – Scott Kupor

"If we're gonna attract early career people, they have to be able to come in an environment where their performance and their merit is a lot more important than how many years they've been here." – Scott Kupor

"We should not be building, in my mind, the 2040 or 2050 plan for AI, because the very honest answer is we have no idea." – Scott Kupor

"Everybody needs to develop some kind of AI literacy, right? So, and not just people who are software developers." – Scott Kupor

"So the good companies, the good organizations, the good nonprofits, whatever it is, you have a theory of the case, but then you actually have to be willing to say, okay, our theory was wrong for X number of reasons and we're gonna change it. And I think it's very hard intellectually for people to do that. But that, I think, is the difference, ultimately, between successful and unsuccessful organizations." – Scott Kupor

Links and Resources:

Scott Kupor's OPM Blog

About the guest: