Consider the convenience of having a personal assistant — a luxury once reserved for executives. Imagine learning a new language and, instead of struggling alone, you have a tutor available 24/7. Think about everyday tasks, like scheduling appointments and booking travel, all taken care of automatically.

Now think about what it’s like to line up at the DMV.

The experience gap continuously expands with every new AI breakthrough, fueled by an endless parade of advancements. After launching GPT-4o in May, OpenAI has already released its next model, o1, featuring significant advancements in reasoning through math and science problems. Apple, meanwhile, is bringing the AI revolution to our pockets with Apple Intelligence, the full features of which we’ll see early next year. Google is continuously enhancing its AI-powered search capabilities, Microsoft has been integrating AI deeply into its Office suite to modernize the way we work, and Meta is now offering smart glasses that bring advanced AI capabilities like voice commands, visual recognition and real-time data interaction directly into our field of vision.

And it’s not just about what’s happening on our computers and smartphones. AI is going to help doctors and the healthcare and life sciences industry at large take better care of you. One top-10 pharmaceutical leader is already using AI in its clinical programming to streamline trial analyses and accelerate the market release of life-saving medicines. In retail, AI will increasingly be used to minimize product shortages by optimizing supply chains around fluctuations in demand and even raw material availability. In agriculture, it will help farmers maximize crop yields with even more advanced weather forecasting, autonomous drones and tractors, and precise applications of water, fertilizer and pesticides.

Even when hidden behind the scenes, AI will be working quietly practically everywhere to protect and transform our lives. But just as we’ll intuitively know where AI is, we’ll know where AI isn’t.

Yes, it’s been talked about — a government behind the AI curve will compromise its global competitiveness, military strength and security. But this stark contrast between staid everyday government services and our increasingly AI-driven lives presents an equally critical risk. If nothing improves in the way we file our taxes, receive our Social Security or Medicare benefits, or go through Transportation Security Administration screening as the rest of the world transforms all around us, our government will comparatively seem primitive, incompetent and, dare I say, obsolete.

The U.S. government certainly understands the implications and has heard the starting gun. Between President Biden’s Executive Order on AI; the release of the U.S. Senate’s Bipartisan AI Roadmap; the Department of Commerce’s Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence for Science, Security and Technology initiative; and the Homeland Security Department’s hiring sprint for AI talent, it’s clear the rollout of AI within government is a priority.

And history has shown that the government is in fact capable of adopting the latest tech along with society. The White House launched its first website in October 1994 — so early on the internet adoption curve that a Pew Research Center survey at the time found that only five million Americans had subscribed to an online service. The site’s content was limited to the First Family, a tour, and other basic information, but today it stands as a comprehensive resource on policies, government services and more.

Similarly, many government agencies were quick to establish official accounts on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. The Defense Department and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention experimented with social media as early as 2006, the year Twitter was founded. These real-time communication platforms soon became essential direct lines to citizens —especially during emergencies.

At the time, critics questioned whether informal social media platforms were suitable channels for conveying important government communications. Can you imagine how disconnected citizens would feel today if our government had listened to them and shunned the tools we rely on most for real-time information? Instead, government was able to overcome the cultural, technological and other barriers to move with the times and meet people where they were.

Our government has also proven to be adept at deploying the tech needed to support more advanced, life-saving initiatives. With the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s assistance, local governments have developed emergency communication systems for use during disasters. The Integrated Public Alert and Warning System, for instance, delivers emergency alerts across mobile apps and websites. The government has also been driving Smart City initiatives that provide grants and resources to help local governments deploy city service or “311” apps that make it easier for citizens to improve their communities by reporting on graffiti, potholes and other issues.

The government’s done it before, it’s doing it now, and it will do it again. The question is whether, in the case of AI, the government can adapt quickly enough. AI is arguably advancing faster than any technology before it, and the U.S. government needs to keep pace.

It will need to strike a balance between rapid innovation and responsible, governed AI deployment — all while preparing forward-looking budgets that account for the realities of AI’s compute, data and hardware requirements. At the same time, government agencies must attract top AI talent despite a significant skills shortage — competing with the salaries and brand appeal of giants like Google, Meta and OpenAI.

There are certainly many paths to success, but the one path we must always stay on is the AI-enabled one. Our government needs to maintain trust through competence, and that competence will increasingly be about powering government services with AI.

Joel Meyer is president of public sector at Domino Data Lab. He has held senior leadership positions at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security where he spearheaded the implementation of the DHS’ first AI task force as the department’s deputy assistant secretary for strategic initiatives. Joel is also currently a member of the Atlantic Council’s newly-formed commission on software-defined warfare.

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