
Elephants in the AI Room
June 2026
3 sessions
About the Series
The Elephants in the AI Room is a three-part series that addresses the most frequently requested and most difficult questions about responsible AI in the public sector. Rather than focusing on tools or use cases, this series addresses the systemic issues governments must confront as AI becomes embedded in public institutions.
Across the series, participants explore how public sector decisions impact workforce, people with disabilities, energy, and the environment. These issues are often discussed separately, but in practice, they are deeply connected through policy choices, governance structures, and public accountability.
This series provides space to examine risks honestly, understand tradeoffs, and consider how governments can respond proactively rather than reactively.
Invisible Barriers: Disability Rights and Public Sector AI
This workshop moves beyond high-level discussions of responsible AI to focus on practical public-sector challenges and decisions. Participants will examine how AI-enabled systems can either improve or undermine accessibility depending on how they are designed,…
Power, Place, and AI: Energy, Environment, and AI Data Centers
This session examines the practical policy and governance challenges surrounding AI infrastructure and explores how public leaders can balance innovation, reliability, sustainability, affordability, and community impacts as AI adoption accelerates.
Beyond Displacement: Building an AI-Ready Workforce
This session explores the workforce impacts of AI in the public sector, including displacement risks, changing roles, productivity pressures, and opportunities to make public work more enjoyable, effective and sustainable. Participants will examine strategies…