The debate over artificial intelligence in government often fixates on ambitious applications: predictive analytics, automated decision-making, fully digital services. Justin Fulcher takes a different starting point. The technology founder and former federal advisor argues that AI’s most valuable contribution to public-sector modernization is more targeted than the headlines suggest. Its job is to remove friction.

This framing reflects what Justin Fulcher has described as the defining challenge of government modernization: not a lack of money or political will, but institutional drag. Outdated workflows, siloed data architectures, and compliance requirements that predate digital operations all layer on top of one another, slowing agencies well below the pace their missions require. Without addressing these compounding inefficiencies, even well-resourced technology initiatives tend to underperform.

Practical Experience Behind the Argument

Justin Fulcher’s position is not theoretical. He co-founded RingMD, a telemedicine company that operated across multiple Asian markets and their associated regulatory environments, then moved into federal service as a Senior Advisor to the Secretary of Defense. At the Department of Defense, he contributed to acquisition reforms that cut software procurement timelines from years to months, a concrete demonstration of what happens when bureaucratic process is redesigned around the actual work.

The insight from that experience applies directly to AI. Tools that are technically capable but poorly matched to the institutional context they enter will struggle to gain traction. AI that demands retraining, creates compliance friction, or introduces new failure points competes against the organizational immune response that greets unfamiliar technology in regulated settings.

The Right Measure of Progress

Justin Fulcher has emphasized that durable progress in government comes from stewardship over time, not from early certainty. For AI adoption, that means building on clear objectives, treating implementation as an ongoing process, and measuring success by whether operational friction actually decreases. Agencies willing to apply that discipline have a genuine opportunity to upgrade their capacity. Those chasing broader transformation without addressing the underlying bottlenecks are likely to come away disappointed. See related link for more information.

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