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181–190 of 266 posts

Re: AI.gov

#181

Lots of folks commenting about salary but that's not even the biggest drawback here. Org instability is. The presidential innovation fellows are 1-year stints, and after the next election, there might not be a next role. Maybe a campaign? Maybe a consulting firm? Unclear. Even if the parties don't flip - senior leaders churn through fast. I love this attempt, but I can't imagine trying to be a mid-senior tech leader…

I mean, that's an issue with administration turn-over in general.

With the PIF it looks like they get spread around to various agencies, so I don't think a fellow from one cohort is likely to be assigned to the same agency and project as a previous one.

Re: AI.gov

#182
post #94

The Presidential Innovation Fellow is the highest level role they're offering as part of this. For this, the requirements are "mid-senior/executive career professional experience in a subject matter expertise" with "experience collaborating with and leading cross-functional teams". The requirements feel analogous to a staff/principal level role in the software industry, so just for comparison here's the compensation…

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Re: AI.gov

#183
post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Recoding America[1] is an excellent book about this problem, but it extends a lot further than just contractors charging inflated rates. The government itself has a culture that is so averse to trying new things and compliance with existing policy that it's actually dangerous to the careers of civil servants to do anything innovative, because that is one of the only things they can actually be fired for. The solution…

I was recruited by, and damn near did a tour with USDS. I ended up passing on it. They wanted an "entrepreneur in residence" to help drive change, which sounded great to me. Then they did the whole "we need you to keep in a cup" thing. I wouldn't have had any problem passing the test, but I told the recruiter "this is where the change needs to start". There's no way I can attract and retain good technical talent if w…

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Re: AI.gov

#184
Is there any other type of development where you have to inform the US gov about it when you start developing it?

The EO says you must inform the gov when you start the training the AI if it's a risk to public health, etc.

How would one determine if it's a risk? Who determines the risk (I assume the government).

So effectively that means the gov determines what is right/wrong, true/false. Not good.

Re: AI.gov

#185
post #25

The US government can't legally pay the salaries required to find AI experts right now (just look at the salaries on the open positions). So all this work will end up being done by contractors who _can_ pay those salaries while the contractors skim off the top. The US really needs a special schedule for software developers if they want technical expertise in house (and they really should have technical expertise in h…

Recoding America[1] is an excellent book about this problem, but it extends a lot further than just contractors charging inflated rates. The government itself has a culture that is so averse to trying new things and compliance with existing policy that it's actually dangerous to the careers of civil servants to do anything innovative, because that is one of the only things they can actually be fired for. The solution…

I actually considered applying for the US Digital Services, I was okay with the salary decrease as long as I could continue to work fully remote, but they require you to work in DC. Telling ppl to take a huge pay cut AND to have to show up to the office is a huge ask.

Re: AI.gov

#186

There are a lot of folks interested in or concerned with what the government is doing here. I would just mention that going to government on a lower salary isn't a binary thing and you can do impactful work for 1-3 years. Places like TechCongress, Presidential Innovation Fellows, and myriad other fellowships have popped up to support this.

First I've heard of TechCongress, thanks much!

Re: AI.gov

#187

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I mean no offense, but this is sort of, with regard to your principles at least, cutting off one's nose to spite one's face? I get that incremental reform is frustrating, but here you had a chance to enter an org you know needed changes, and you blew it because you refused to take a basic drug test that you openly state you could've passed easily. Like, it's bullshit that they asked, it is an invasion of privacy, it…

I get that perspective, and I did think about it a lot. Understand that the position was mostly charity work - the pay was negligible for a six month contract. I was ok with that part - I was motivated to help, not by compensation. The intrusive testing, coupled with bad compensation is a root cause of the problem IMHO. I think organizations only really change when they feel pain. In this case, my hope is that the pa…

You are completely right. Once inside, your power to affect change is nearly zero unless you are a very high ranking person, and even then it's pretty near impossible.

The change will come when enough people say "we can't hire the best people!" Until then, the only argument is "it's an invasion of privacy and outdated" but if it's not broken (i.e. not causing any problems) they won't fix it. All the candidates power is at negotiation of the offer time. Once you accept, it's kind of over.

Re: AI.gov

#188
post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Bureaucrats are so risk averse to such an extent that the culture can have an allergy to trying to do things different or better too quickly (including innovation).

Did you just strip the context and rephrase exactly what the parent comment says?

Not at all.

Sincerely asking, does your question intend to pre-suppose that everyone must have and express a unique perspective and no one can independently have anything in common? Or some other faux pas such a comment would run a-foul of?

When I saw original post, I had this comment. There was kinship with the parent post. Sometimes echoing your support with another comment is a valid comment too.

If you may want more novelty and context and details:

My professional experience includes working across multiple industries of bureaucrats, and that was my visceral reaction to the piece. Change usually means studying change, analysis, design and ultimately decision fatigue by committee.

There's many hard working and great bureaucrats. My statement tends to apply to the leadership and management layers. In terms of keepign things the same or very slow and tiny changes incrementaly, there's a lot of neat reading around institutionalization as it relates to not only government but bureaucracy here.

An exciting part is how the pandemic challenged and made it OK for bureaucracies to try things and to roll out programs that weren't fully thought out or known and update them regularly. In environments many people could not handle navigating.

Most of all I'm flattered by the downvotes.. happy to take those for the parent too. Perhaps I phrased it in a way that might have triggered some bureaucrats since they exist in enterprise, government, education, healthcare and more.

Or maybe it bothered the dopamine seekers in only novel and unique comments have worth.

Re: AI.gov

#189

Is there any other type of development where you have to inform the US gov about it when you start developing it? The EO says you must inform the gov when you start the training the AI if it's a risk to public health, etc. How would one determine if it's a risk? Who determines the risk (I assume the government). So effectively that means the gov determines what is right/wrong, true/false. Not good.

My friend, it is quite literally the goverment's job to decide what is right or wrong through drafting and enacting laws.

I am not stating that having to inform the government when you're training models is right. It's an asinine way of thinking by people who have no idea what they're talking about and are severely out of touch. The laws they've enacted were based on fear, often propagated by OpenAI themselves. It is still their job to do that though.

Re: AI.gov

#190
post #94

The Presidential Innovation Fellow is the highest level role they're offering as part of this. For this, the requirements are "mid-senior/executive career professional experience in a subject matter expertise" with "experience collaborating with and leading cross-functional teams". The requirements feel analogous to a staff/principal level role in the software industry, so just for comparison here's the compensation…

Yeah but your country needs you, and that’s actually pretty good pay. I think tech would be a little bit broader if more people considered serving for a year or two.

How old are you? Major consensus among youngsters is that there is no such thing as "serving your country".
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