Washington, D.C., Mandates AI Training for Staff, Contractors

AI training is now a requirement for all Washington, D.C., government employees and the contractors who work with them.

The district has taken a values-driven approach to AI technologies, implementing projects like the AI-powered career platform and an AI-powered feedback tool in alignment with those principles.

“AI is becoming part of everyday work, and public servants deserve practical guidance to use these tools responsibly,” the district’s Chief Technology Officer Stephen Miller, director of the Office of the Chief Technology Officer (OCTO), said in a statement.

The new training, announced Thursday, is self-paced learning that employees and contractors are required to complete within 90 days of notification. It comes at no cost to either the government or its workforce, according to an email from OCTO Public Information Officer Laura-Céline Patrick.

The training is delivered in partnership with InnovateUS, which delivers free online learning for public service professionals. InnovateUS is a nonprofit, multistate initiative from the team at the Burnes Center for Social Change at Northeastern University and governed by public-sector leaders.

The nonprofit has worked with numerous governments across the U.S. to expand AI training. States that have utilized its training include California, Colorado, Georgia, Maryland, New Jersey and New York. Local governments that have done the same include Indianapolis; San Francisco and San Jose, Calif.; and Miami-Dade County, Fla.

In Washington, D.C., the training will offer guidance to support the everyday use of AI at work, to help government employees and the contractors that work with them better understand the limitations and abilities of AI technologies.

Washington government employees and contractors can use their @dc.gov or @k12.dc.gov single sign-on credentials to complete the training at their own pace online, on the D.C. AI Learning Hub, within the 90-day timeline.
The “Responsible AI for Public Professionals” training is a two-part course series — one of which is centered on GenAI use in government and the other on risk and resilience. The former addresses practical applications in daily government work and the latter addresses issues like privacy, hallucinations and bias.

The timing of this announcement comes just after the two-year anniversary of the Mayor’s Order 2024-028, which established a framework for AI use across the city’s government, led by six core values: clear benefit to residents, safety and equity, accountability, transparency, sustainability, and privacy and cybersecurity. That framework called for comprehensive training on AI tools. The training, Miller said, will help Washington government put those values into practice.