Harvard Data Science Agentic AI ProSci Change Management Government of Canada | #GCDigital | Views are mine.
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@grok solved it with this image. Now you can quick release like your Apple MacBook or MacBook Air. Coming soon :)
🤖 Made with AI
The one sentence that changes the AI conversation
TBS published the Guide on the Use of Agentic Artificial Intelligence in May. Buried in the overview is a sentence that should reframe how we all talk about this:
Generative AI may describe what should be done. Agentic AI can attempt to do it.
That is not a technical footnote. It is a governance dividing line.
Here is the part I think gets missed. Agentic AI does not swap one set of risks for another. It inherits every generative concern — accuracy, privacy, fairness, security — and then adds a second set on top.
The new set is about actions rather than content. What did it touch? What permissions did it have? Can we see what it did? Can we undo it? Most of us are far less practised at these, because until recently we did not need to be.
So the honest framing is not "agentic AI is the next thing to assess." It is "agentic AI is everything we were already assessing, plus a category we have barely started on."
The guide's answer is two principles layered on top of FASTER. Bounded autonomy, meaning tight explicit limits on data, tools and scope, with read-only as the default. And recoverability, meaning the thing can be paused, stopped and returned to a safe state, with every action logged somewhere the agent cannot edit.
Both of those are design decisions, not procurement decisions. They have to be made before anyone builds anything, by people who understand the program. Which means the governance conversation cannot wait until there is a tool to assess.
If your department is planning agentic pilots this year, the question is not whether the AI is good. It is whether you can explain, in one sentence, what it is allowed to do and what happens when it does something you did not expect.
Can you?
Guide on the Use of Agentic Artificial Intelligence, TBS: lnkd.in/gTDH663Q
Views my own.
#GCDigital #AIGovernance #PublicService
ALT Diagram showing that agentic AI inherits generative AI's concerns and adds new ones. A dashed boundary labelled "Agentic AI — attempts to do it, not just describe it" contains two boxes. The first, "Content questions," is inherited from generative AI: accurate, biased, secure. The second, "Action questions," is new with agentic AI: permitted, logged, reversible. Both feed into two principles below: bounded autonomy, meaning read-only by default, and recoverability, meaning pause, log, return safely.
my wife spent the afternoon building this while i swam with our toddler. she built this off of an etsy plan and we altered it to match the wood we had. it turned out great!
You missed a great time. Here are some highlights!
Last week, I had the opportunity to return to DPI's Professional Development Week as the DPI Rover for the third year. I had an amazing time capturing many aspects of the conference and the digital awards gala.
I learned a lot about actionable items I can bring back to my workday, and I also had plenty of time to connect with colleagues and meet new ones during the social.
Here is a little recap of some of the many things that happened this year.
Current status: on vacation, so perhaps a few too many floaties.
ALT Sunny resort pool deck scene in the Caribbean or Mexico. Multiple black mesh lounge chairs are scattered with bright inflatable pool toys and floats: large green sea turtle, yellow and pink donuts, blue and purple rings, floral turtle float, and several others. Palm trees cast shadows across the stone-tiled area, with a two-story white stucco building featuring arched walkways and black wooden beams visible in the background.
I am excited for the future of Canadian #DigitalGov after reading the budget tabled yesterday. From an ambition, now prioritized as part of Canada Strong.
Sharing my personal thoughts and what gets me excited about our everyday work in #GCDigital.
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Why a Modernized Canada is a Fiscally Responsible Canada
In the context of the current budget and the future of public service, our challenge isn't just to cut costs—it's to transform value. My personal belief is that achieving a truly modernized and connected Canada is not a luxury; it is the most fiscally responsible path to delivering citizen-centric services.
Reflecting on recent digital leadership insights (like those from @fwd50conf), the strategic lessons for our GCDigital journey are clear and align directly with TBS's Digital Ambition:
1. Shift from Compliance Rituals to Strategic Enablers
• The Problem: Outdated processes are institutional, optimizing for compliance and documentation instead of outcome. This creates massive "policy legacy debt" that costs Canadians time and money.
• The Solution (Per TBS): We must shift our process from a transactional ritual to a strategic enabler (like the reset of the Policy on Service and Digital). This means designing policies and services as continuous products that iterate based on user feedback, not as static documents developed in isolation.
2. Building Internal Capability to Own Our Future
• The Problem: Dependency on perpetual outsourcing costs more over the long term and stifles innovation.
• The Solution (Per GCDigital): We must pursue Digital Sovereignty—a core belief that the we must build and control the capability (in technology, design, and policy) to own and continually improve its most critical service delivery systems. This empowers our public servants and ensures better value for taxpayer dollars.
3. Designing for All is Better Design for Everyone
• The Problem: Projects fail when the core user problem isn't fully explored, often automating a broken process.
• The Solution (Per TBS Digital Standards): We must adopt a rigorous user-centricity framework, including designing with accessibility and equity from the start. Designing for the 27% of Canadians with disabilities, for instance, leads to simpler forms, clearer language, and mobile-first design—a more efficient and robust experience for every Canadian.
A modern, connected government means simpler, trusted, and accessible services delivered right the first time. This is how we restore trust, reduce long-term operational costs, and truly serve Canadians in the digital era.
I am beyond excited to see where the next few years will lead us.
Thank you FWD50, Alistair Croll, Rebecca Croll and Hillary Hartley for another great year of thought-provoking keynotes and opportunities to connect with SME’s as well as colleagues across the GoC.
#GCDigital #DigitalGovernment #CitizenService #PublicService #Modernization #CanadianGovernment
ALT Rob has short dark hair smiling at the camera while seated at a small round table in a modern indoor space with large geometric windows overlooking a cityscape in warm morning light. He wears a white cardigan over a collared shirt and holds a disposable coffee cup in one hand, raising it slightly in a toast-like gesture. A black laptop with a Canada-shaped sticker is open in front of him, alongside glasses, a phone, and a wallet on the table. Bold white text overlay reads “Good morning.”
Last year, I had the opportunity to attend the Communications Community Office (CCO) Learning Days 2024, where I volunteered and participated as a learner. As one of the Government of Canada's Free Agents, I recognize the importance of continuous learning across disciplines. Events like these play a crucial role in career growth and training.
Learning from experienced professionals and peers is invaluable, and I am grateful for the opportunity.
Here is a small recap video I produced of the event. I hope to see you this year. #GCComms #CommsGC