Labor Department Official: Agency Needs to be More Confident in AI Adoption

The Department of Labor’s newly appointed artificial intelligence chief believes that the agency needs to be more confident in embracing the emerging technology.

Speaking with FedScoop, Mangala Kuppa, chief AI officer at the DOL, said the department can proceed with rapid adoption as it possesses “a ‘leg up’ on scaling AI quickly” due to existing foundational building blocks and existing infrastructure.

She also attributed the support extended by the Technology Modernization Fund to the agency’s ability to accelerate its AI adoption after the program provided it with resources to modernize, FedScoop reported.

Kuppa discussed how AI could help realize cost savings. In using the technology for the temporary visa application process, she shared that the department could save as much as $1.9 million based on a case study by the TMF.

While Kuppa was only recently appointed as the Labor Department’s AI lead, the agency has been turning to the technology to improve its operations. In May 2023, it collaborated with Stanford University to explore ways of using AI to modernize the DOL unemployment insurance system.