Greg Godbout on AI, the Federal Workforce, and the Leap Government Must Take Sponsored by vTech Solution

On this episode of Former Fed Friday, host Shelley McGuire welcomes Greg Godbout, Chief AI Officer at Code360 and a longtime leader in federal technology innovation. With a career that includes serving as former CTO and U.S. Digital Services Lead at the EPA, co-founding and leading 18F, and working as a Presidential Innovation Fellow, Greg brings a rare, inside-outside perspective on how government adopts, and struggles with, new technology. The conversation covers the pressing questions surrounding artificial intelligence and the future of the public-sector workforce. Greg discusses how AI is likely to transform roles across government, whether it truly represents a fundamental shift or just another wave of technology, and what lessons agencies should learn from industries like finance that have already undergone large-scale AI transitions. The episode also explores why AI initiatives often fail when they’re developed in isolation, how experimentation needs to happen close to production to deliver real value, and what happens when agencies bet too heavily on massive, centralized data platforms. Listen in as Greg challenges conventional approaches to AI adoption, governance, and platform strategy, offering a candid look at the questions government must answer now if it hopes to scale AI responsibly and effectively. To connect with Greg visit him on LinkedIn here. Learn more about Code360 by visiting their website here.  If you liked listening to this episode, view our Former Fed Perspectives page here. To view all of our podcast series, visit our podcast page. Thank you to our sponsor vTech Solution.