Valerie Wirtschafter’s report evaluates the rapid acceleration of artificial intelligence adoption in the U.S. federal government, highlighting significant efforts from both the Biden and Trump administrations to enhance government efficiency and service delivery. Since 2023, particularly following the Trump administration’s 2025 AI Action Plan, the number of reported AI use cases has surged from approximately 700 to over 3,600 across 41 agencies, revealing growing integration of AI in critical functions such as law enforcement and healthcare. However, the report also notes that AI adoption remains uneven and is largely concentrated within a few large agencies, hindered by challenges like limited workforce capacity, procurement obstacles, and public mistrust.

Valerie Wirtschafter: Valerie Wirtschafter is a researcher and author specializing in evaluations of AI policy and technology adoption in public sectors. She authored this in-depth report assessing the state of AI integration across U.S. federal agencies, drawing on inventories, policies, jobs data, and technologist interviews. Her analysis highlights rapid experimentation growth alongside persistent barriers like technical capacity and public trust.
U.S. federal government: The U.S. federal government comprises executive agencies responsible for public services, national security, and administration across various sectors. In the context of this report, it has accelerated AI adoption under consecutive administrations, including Biden and Trump, with the 2025 AI Action Plan driving expanded experimentation since 2023. Despite growth to thousands of AI use cases by 2025, adoption remains uneven due to workforce shortages, procurement issues, and governance challenges.

`json
{
“Key Challenges”: “Responsible scaling requires stronger AI literacy, procurement reform, transparency, and investments in technical talent and governance.”,
“Adoption Growth”: “AI experimentation in federal agencies has expanded rapidly since 2023, particularly after the Trump administration’s 2025 AI Action Plan.”,
“Uneven Progress”: “AI adoption remains concentrated in large agencies, slowed by limited technical workforce, procurement barriers, and bureaucratic risk aversion.”
}
`