Building the Future of Government AI: Celebrating Our First AI Hub Cohort

Public and social sector agencies have a powerful opportunity to harness artificial intelligence to better serve their communities, but most efforts today are fragmented and reactive. While headlines and legislation like HR1 underscore the urgency of modernizing government systems, few spaces exist for agencies to experiment safely and responsibly before committing to large-scale procurement. 

That’s what makes the AI Learning and Innovation Hub different. We provide a structured environment for public sector teams to build, test, and scale AI solutions with confidence, grounded in collaborative development and practical use cases. For the past 6 months, our first cohort has been building the future of public sector innovation together. 

As we approach our Cohort Closing Event on December 9, we’re excited to share what these agencies have accomplished and invite you to join us in celebrating their progress. 

Meet the Cohort: Public and Social Sector Agencies Driving Innovation 

City of San Antonio’s Workforce Development Office
San Antonio’s Workforce Development Office is leveraging AI within its multi-media monitoring tool to conduct sentiment analysis on public outreach campaigns, helping the team understand how workforce programs are perceived and which messages drive engagement. Their solution focuses on engaging job seekers with relevant opportunities and training resources. 

New Mexico’s Health Care Authority (HCA)
With legislation like HR1 signaling the need for modernization, New Mexico’s Health Care Authority (HCA) turned to the AI Learning and Innovation Hub to gain hands-on experience in a safe sandbox environment. Through this partnership, HCA explored how AI can responsibly improve benefits access—testing tools, refining prompts, and learning before making procurement decisions.  

Tulsa Community College & Tulsa Innovation Labs
Tulsa Community College is working alongside Tulsa Innovation Labs on using AI to keep their curricula and programs aligned with rapidly changing industry needs. This includes incorporating real-time labor market insights, collecting data from local employers, and designing work-based learning programs.  

City of Alexandria, VA
The City of Alexandria is developing an AI chatbot to help staff identify inconsistencies and navigate local and state building codes. The tool allows users to ask natural-language questions and provides answers with citations, enabling staff to quickly find and verify the correct code requirements. 

Calderdale Recovery Steps & Change, Grow, Live 

Our sister organization, Social Finance UK, joined forces with two service providers tackling similar challenges in the U.K. Calderdale Recovery Steps and Change, Grow, Live are working together on use cases to support their employment specialists. Their combined work focuses on localized labor market analyses, helping specialists better assist job seekers. 

These teams prove that responsible AI in government isn’t abstract—it’s happening now. They’re asking the right questions, building practical tools, and learning as they go. 

Learn More & Get Involved 

Curious about the AI Hub? Want to join our next cohort or fund a target cohort? Visit https://socialfinance.org/ai-hub for details and subscribe to our newsletter. Stay tuned for more reflections and insights from our team and partners.