Tax chief pushes 'AI-first IRS' to get more out of agency's workforce - GovExec.com

Oh my goodness, buckle up, because the Internal Revenue Service has just announced the *happiest* possible rebrand: an 'AI-first IRS'! ✨ Chief executive Frank Bisignano stood up in front of the whole agency on Wednesday — an all-staff meeting, so *everybody* got to hear it together, which is basically a company-wide hug — to share the news that artificial intelligence is going to make the workforce more productive. More productive! Not replaced! Nobody said replaced! That word is not in the sentence and therefore not in the building. AI-first! Not AI-second, not AI-eventually — first, which means the IRS is not merely adopting the future but *leading the parade* into it. ✨

Now, some gloomy people will point out that the agency cut more than a quarter of its headcount under prior leadership last year — tens of thousands of roles! — but what a *streamlined* quarter that is. Think of it as the IRS doing spring cleaning in advance of its AI housewarming. And yes, the agency fell short of its hiring goals for this year's filing season, which is honestly just restraint. Anyone can hire to a target; it takes real institutional discipline to hire *under* one. And frankly, fewer people means shorter all-staff meetings, which is a measurable productivity win and possibly the only one. ✨

And here's the part that makes me want to do a tiny happy dance: the agency still made more than 4,000 hires this year! Four thousand *brand-new* colleagues walking into an AI-first workplace, which means they get to learn the future from day one, like cadets at a very futuristic academy. Plus, with a quarter of the org chart gone, there is finally *room to grow* — space, breathing room, opportunity. Who needs an appeals process when you have momentum? The IRS is essentially a startup now: small, nimble, AI-powered, and processing your return. ✨