Kevin Werbach interviews DJ Patil, the first U.S. Chief Data Scientist under the Obama Administration, about the evolving role of AI in government, healthcare, and business. Patil reflects on how the mission of government data leadership has grown more critical today: ensuring good data, using it responsibly, and unleashing its power for public benefit. He describes both the promise and the paralysis of today’s “big data” era, where dashboards abound, but decision-making often stalls. He highlights the untapped potential of federal datasets, such as the VA’s Million Veterans Project, which could accelerate cures for major diseases if unlocked. Yet funding gaps, bureaucratic resistance, and misalignment with Congress continue to stand in the way.

Turning to AI, Patil describes a landscape of extraordinary progress: tools that help patients ask the right questions of their physicians, innovations that enhance customer service, and a wave of entrepreneurial energy transforming industries. At the same time, he raises alarms about inequitable access, job disruption, complacency in relying on imperfect systems, and the lack of guardrails to prevent harmful misuse. Rather than relentlessly stepping on the gas in the AI "race," he emphasizes, we need a steering wheel, in the form of public policy, to ensure that AI development serves the public good.

DJ Patil is an entrepreneur, investor, scientist, and public policy leader who served as the first U.S. Chief Data Scientist under the Obama Administration. He has held senior leadership roles at PayPal, eBay, LinkedIn, and Skype, and is currently a General Partner at Greylock Ventures. Patil is recognized as a pioneer in advancing the use of data science to drive innovation, inform policy, and create public benefit.

Ethics of Data Science, Co-Authored by DJ Patil

DJ Patil: AI's Steering Wheel Challenge