The GovAI Podcast

S2E6 - Anh Selissen - Inside the Agency Running 200 AI Use Cases at Once

In this episode of the GovAI Podcast, Noam Maital and Dustin Haisler are joined by Anh Selissen, Chief Information Officer for the Texas Department of Transportation and a disruptive innovator running one of the largest, most complex public sector technology operations in the country. With over two decades across the public and private sectors, Anh brings a rare combination of operational discipline and clarity to a 13,500-person, statewide agency. She walks through why TxDOT rewrote its AI strategy just one year after publishing it, why it was authored entirely in-house, and how the agency is operationalizing agentic AI through strong governance, ROI tracking, and human-in-the-loop accountability. They explore the data foundation behind it all, including consolidating 97+ data solutions into a single enterprise data platform, and how TxDOT uses a readiness scorecard to prioritize 200+ AI use cases without falling into pilot purgatory. Anh also shares how the agency's AI Academy and network of nearly 200 "AI champions" is pushing adoption into the business while keeping security and risk in healthy balance. Looking ahead, they dig into multi-agent orchestration for operational monitoring, the Texas Responsible AI Governance Act (TRAIGA), and how AI could fundamentally transform how roads get built. This podcast is brought to you by Darwin AI, a platform built for state and local government to help agencies adopt and manage AI responsibly.

S2E5 - Andrew Ngui - How Should Government Actually Adopt AI?

In this episode of the GovAI Podcast, Noam Maital and Dustin Haisler are joined by Andrew Ngui, Chief Digital Officer for the City of Kansas City and a leader at the intersection of digital innovation, data, and responsible AI adoption. Andrew brings a systems-level perspective on how government should approach AI, not just as a technology shift, but as an organizational and leadership challenge. From introducing the concept of “minimally invasive innovation” to rethinking workflows entirely, he shares how agencies can adopt AI without disrupting the core of how they operate. They explore how to identify the right use cases, why solving real “painkiller” problems matters more than deploying AI for the sake of it, and how cities should think about governance, procurement, and vendor engagement in a rapidly evolving landscape. The conversation also dives into workforce transformation, internal AI adoption, and what it means to redesign work in the age of AI, moving beyond simple automation to true operational change. This podcast is brought to you by Darwin AI, a platform built for state and local government to help agencies adopt and manage AI responsibly.

S2E4 - Micah Gaudet - How AI Is Actually Used Inside Local Government

In this episode of the GovAI Podcast, Noam Maital and Dustin Haisler are joined by Micah Gaudet, Deputy Chief Manager and Chief Public Safety Officer for the City of Maricopa, Arizona and a leading voice on practical AI adoption inside government. Micah brings a hands-on perspective from inside city operations, where AI is no longer experimental, it’s embedded into day-to-day work. From using tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity to inform decisions in real time, he shares what it actually looks like to integrate AI into leadership, workflows, and service delivery. They explore how agencies should approach experimentation, how to evaluate new tools, and why banning AI often leads to more risk through shadow usage. The conversation also dives into governance, trust, and what it takes to scale AI responsibly across an organization. They also look ahead to what’s next, from agentic systems to citizen-driven AI, and how expectations for government are already shifting as residents begin interacting with public services through AI. This podcast is brought to you by Darwin AI, a platform built for state and local government to help agencies adopt and manage AI responsibly.

S2E3 - Amit Elazari - Who Actually Shapes AI Policy?

In this episode of the GovAI Podcast, Noam Maital is joined by Dr. Amit Elazari, Co-Founder and CEO of Open Policy and a leading voice at the intersection of AI, cybersecurity, and global policy. Amit brings a unique perspective from both inside government affairs and as a founder building tools to scale policy access. From her experience shaping cybersecurity policy at Intel to launching Open Policy, she breaks down why policy has historically been limited to a small group of experts and why that’s now changing. They explore how policy directly impacts go-to-market, product strategy, and revenue, why most companies underestimate its role, and how AI is enabling a broader set of organizations to engage in shaping policy rather than just reacting to it. The conversation also dives into the evolving global landscape, from EU regulation to U.S. state-level fragmentation, and what it means for companies and governments trying to navigate a rapidly shifting environment. They also look ahead to the future of “policy as code,” where governance becomes more scalable, automated, and embedded directly into how organizations operate. This podcast is brought to you by Darwin AI, a platform built for state and local government to help agencies adopt and manage AI responsibly.

S2E2 - Benjamin Palacio - The Real Impact of AI on Government Jobs

In this episode of the GovAI Podcast, Noam Maital and Dustin Haisler are joined by Benjamin Palacio, Senior IT Analyst for Placer County, California and a longtime practitioner on the frontlines of government AI. Ben has been building AI solutions since 2018, well before the current wave of generative AI, and brings a rare, hands-on perspective on how AI has evolved inside government over the past several years. They explore what’s actually changing (and what isn’t), from early rule-based chatbots to today’s real-time, dynamic AI systems and what that means for agencies trying to move from experimentation to real deployment. The conversation dives into how AI is being applied today, including chatbots, automation, and citizen-facing tools, as well as the operational realities of adoption: procurement challenges, data governance, validation, and the risks of vendor lock-in. They also tackle one of the biggest questions in government today: Will AI replace workers or fundamentally change how work gets done? This podcast is brought to you by Darwin AI, a platform built for state and local government to help agencies adopt and manage AI responsibly.