Over the past two years, as a cybersecurity reporter at ProPublica, I’ve concentrated much of my reporting on how the federal government and its IT contractors, such as Microsoft, have managed significant technological shifts. Artificial intelligence, the technology now dominating daily news, has captivated everyone. Home users, corporations, and the federal government are all eagerly adopting it. President Donald Trump and his Cabinet claim AI will revolutionize the nation, enhancing our prosperity, efficiency, and security—but only if we embrace it quickly enough. This rhetoric, however, is nothing new. About 15 years ago, President Barack Obama’s administration employed almost the same wording as the U.S. plunged into the cloud computing revolution. I’ve examined how the federal government has managed—and bungled—this shift over the last two decades, and my reporting provides cautionary stories and key insights as policymakers promote AI adoption and agencies integrate the technology. Then: In the early 2020s, cyberattacks tied to Russia, China, and Iran rocked the federal government. The Biden administration urged leading tech companies to assist the U.S. in strengthening its defenses. In reply, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella committed $150 million worth of technical services to the government to enhance its digital security. It also provided a “free” security upgrade for government customers. Now: Last year, the Trump administration announced numerous agreements with tech companies aimed at enabling federal agencies to acquire enterprise AI tools at government-friendly prices. OpenAI’s ChatGPT could be used by agencies for $1.
