Is the government’s struggle with artificial intelligence a lack of computing power, or is it just a terminal case of "panel paralysis"? We spend an endless amount of time watching officials debate the ethics of algorithms in sterile conference rooms, while the actual machinery of state bureaucracy continues to run on software that feels like it belongs in a museum.
The real story here isn't the hype surrounding AI’s potential in the public sector—it’s the shift toward bypassing theoretical talk in favor of "failing forward" through rapid, hands-on prototyping.
Moving Beyond the PowerPoint Presentation
On April 17, a group of builders, students, and government officials gathered at the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) for the inaugural 1776 Labs event. Hosted by gov tech company OnGov, the gathering wasn't designed to produce another white paper or a list of high-level recommendations. Instead, it focused on the immediate construction of functional tools.
Silas Deane, founder and CEO of OnGov, has a simple thesis: “Most governments don’t need just another panel on the future of AI.” He argues that the real hurdles to government adoption—procurement rules, legal constraints, and the necessity of public trust—can only be cleared by building something that actually works. By moving the conversation from a lecture hall to a lab, the event aimed to prove that government technology can be both practical and deployable.
Prototyping as a Public Utility
The most tangible success of the day came from a collaboration between students and HEAL PA, a multisector coalition focused on trauma-informed care. Jesse Kohler, Director of HEAL PA, arrived at the event hoping to bridge communication gaps between groups working to support Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE) scoring across the state. By the end of the session, the team had created what Deane described as a “legitimate prototype.”
This wasn't just a successful demo; the group is now working on a live launch. For a state bureaucracy, moving from a conceptual problem to a functional prototype in a single day is a radical departure from the traditional, slow-moving procurement cycles that usually define government tech. Bry Pardoe, Pennsylvania CIO, noted that prototyping is one of the “most powerful things” state government can do to explore AI. It allows the state to test the viability of a solution before committing the massive resources typically required for long-term implementation.
The Intersection of Academia and Infrastructure
The event served as a high-stakes workshop for the future of the public sector workforce. With support from Amazon Web Services and OpenAI, alongside university sponsors like the Wharton School, the Fels Institute of Government, and Penn Venture Lab, the lab created a pipeline between student talent and government needs. Abby Smith, President and CEO of the nonprofit Team Pennsylvania (Team PA), viewed the event as a way to "democratize" access to government resources, specifically by using AI to reduce the barrier to entry for organizations applying for state funding.
The next reading of the progress on the HEAL PA prototype will show whether this "build-first" model can successfully navigate the transition from a university lab project to a permanent, secure component of the state’s digital infrastructure. If the interest from universities outside of Pennsylvania continues to grow, we may soon see if the model of co-developing community solutions can scale beyond the Keystone State.
