Russ Pearlman's Blog

The Obama campaign had some pretty interesting promises when it came to technology (see their position note). Now that Obama has appointed Aneesh Chopra to the role of Federal CTO, I thought it would be a good idea to look back at their position paper. Here are the relevant promises:

1. “[The CTO will] ensure that our government and all its agencies have the right infrastructure, policies and services for the 21st century. The CTO will ensure the safety of our networks and will lead an inter agency effort, working with chief technology and chief information officers of each of the federal agencies, to ensure that they use best-in-class technologies and share best practices.” I’m not sure who could be against that, but having seen this attempted within MUCH smaller bureaucracies, I’m not sure how Mr. Chopra will be able to accomplish such lofty goals.
2. “The CTO will have a specific focus on transparency, by ensuring that each arm of the federal government makes its records open and accessible as the E-Government Act requires.” If you click the link, you can enjoy the 72 page E-Government Act of 2002. It’s mind boggling and references back to numerous other laws. Some basic research shows that it’s been very slow in implementation.
3. “The CTO will also ensure technological interoperability of key government functions… [so] we do not have a repeat of the failure to deliver critical public services that occurred in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.” Again, this is admirable, but I’m not sure that national disasters can be overcome by IT. Think of what 9/11 did to the phone systems of NYC. Anyone who has been in IT long enough knows that when an unexpected peak in activity occurs against systems – they just can’t handle it and they crash. Unless you are looking to spend enormous sums of money to anticipate those extreme peaks, you have to accept that there will be system failures. It seems that the CTO should focus more on disaster recovery than interoperability.
4. “In the 21st century, our economic success will depend not only on economic analysis but also on technological sophistication and direct experience in this powerful engine of our economy. In an Obama administration, the government’s economic policy-making organizations and councils will include individuals with backgrounds in our technology industry.” Good. However, this particular CTO is a government veteran, not an industry veteran.

Overall, I think it’s great that Obama has appointed the first Federal CTO. And, from the sound of all the adulation, it sounds like Mr. Chopra is a good candidate. But, I wish that his mission was founded more around innovation instead of bureaucracy.

For example, I would love to see a more ambitious plan for school and education around technology. And, I don’t mean putting in the Internet. (We all know that anyone can blog and say anything on the Internet – hehe). What about using tools like RosettaStone, the language instruction software for helping to teach languages? Or, how about adaptive testing mechanisms that help address specific areas where students need to learn better? Or, how about advances in digital books / textbooks so that cost efficiencies can enable more children to have the latest books?

Let the Federal CIOs worry about infrastructure, interoperability and the like. Let’s bring in a real CTO position that drives innovation, efficiency and the kind of new thinking that can partner with private companies to really push the effectiveness of government.