Greg Barbaccia to leave federal CIO role at end of August

Greg Barbaccia, the federal CIO and Chief AI Officer, is packing up his desk after a whirlwind 18-month tenure. That's right — the person responsible for shepherding the US government's AI strategy and IT transformation is leaving at the end of August. Because what could possibly go wrong with yet another senior tech official exiting stage left, right when the technology is accelerating faster than a teenage driver on a learner's permit? The man's signature achievement, according to the article, was pushing agencies to buy commercial tools rather than build in-house. Yes, because nothing screams 'long-term strategic thinking' like outsourcing the government's brain to Salesforce, Oracle, and whoever else has a shiny AI widget to flog.

Let's savour the irony: the Chief AI Officer, the very person supposed to ensure the government isn't caught flat-footed by the AI revolution, is off to pastures new after less time than it takes to train a small language model. And his great legacy is a procurement policy that would make any Big Tech sales rep weep with joy. 'Buy, don't build' — the motto of a public sector that has learned nothing from years of vendor lock-in, cost overruns, and security breaches. But hey, at least the revolving door spins smoothly, and we can all look forward to Barbaccia's inevitable consulting gig advising agencies on 'AI transformation' for six figures a pop.

Of course, the timing is impeccable. With Congress dithering on AI regulation, agencies scrambling to adopt tools, and the White House still trying to figure out what 'responsible AI' means, the government's top AI dog is bailing out. It's almost as if the job is a poisoned chalice — or the salary just isn't competitive with Silicon Valley's. Either way, the federal AI governance gap just got a little wider. But don't worry, I'm sure the next CIO will be equally committed to 'leveraging partnerships' and 'driving synergies' right up until they, too, decide that 18 months is quite enough thank you.