How the U.S. Department of the Treasury is using a human-centered approach to scale AI innovation

At the 2025 Amazon Web Services (AWS) Federal AI Conference in Virginia, Paras Malik, the Chief AI Officer at the U.S. Department of the Treasury, joined AWS Global Head of Financial Innovation Michael Greenwald to share how Treasury is taking a human-centered approach to the use of AI tools. Their conversation highlighted lessons other agencies can apply as they explore promoting AI leadership at scale.

Creating a scalable governance model

When Malik stepped into her position at Treasury, she embarked on a listening tour across Treasury and with different federal agencies to speak with leaders as they implemented the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) memorandums 25-21 and 25-22, which compelled agencies to formulate an AI adoption strategy and a compliance plan for AI adoption. She found that while Treasury was experimenting with AI, there was no broader cohesive strategy for its overall use.

In response, Malik implemented a federated AI governance structure at the Treasury Department by working between its existing AI Governance Board and the AI Transformation Office, which she leads. These bodies are complemented by an AI council, which comprises AI and technology leads across the department who implement AI governance in day-to-day operations.

Treasury is taking a dual-track approach to AI: The department uses AI to make an immediate, daily impact by deploying tools like chatbots and productivity applications for Treasury staff to experiment with. At the same time, department leaders are building a long-term strategy of initiatives that redesign broader processes to incorporate AI tools and formulating a long-term technology strategy for the department that prioritizes AI use and dominance, implementing the current administration’s AI Action Plan.

Putting people first in AI adoption

Malik frames Treasury’s approach to AI use as a human-centered journey, emphasizing that the department supports and trains their staff to work with AI rather than using it to replace them.

Her vision resulted in a cultural shift, evolving from asking whether the technology could be used to setting the expectation that it will be used. She effectively supported her staff as they experimented with AI, guiding them as they learned how it could positively impact their work. Malik’s encouragement of experimentation led teams across the department to gradually use time-saving AI tools to perform routine tasks, such as market research and drafting memos. Encouraging her staff to leverage AI to assist with more routine work freed them to do what humans do best: focus on solving creative, collaborative problems as a team.

The Treasury Department is leading efforts to make AI literacy and skill development programs eligible for education assistance under Internal Revenue Service (IRS) code as part of the current administration’s AI Action Plan. This means employers may be able to offer tax-free reimbursement for AI-related training in applicable situations.

Using AI to strengthen national and financial security

In addition to its use in everyday Treasury operations, Malik champions AI as a tool to effectively combat illicit finance and money laundering activities as the agency monitors financial movements across borders. Drawing on her extensive finance industry experience, which she gained at organizations like Boston Consulting Group, Morgan Stanley, Bridgewater, and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Malik is working to position the Treasury Department on the global stage as an example of the effective use of AI in federal government. Treasury has engaged with its foreign counterparts at summits like G7 and G20 on how AI is affecting the global economy.

The Treasury Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence is expanding its use of advanced AI tools to detect and prevent fraud by proactively identifying suspicious financial patterns and terrorist financing. AI-driven processes have helped Treasury prevent or recover funds used in fraudulent and improper payments. This includes identifying fraudulent Treasury checks, allowing the department to recover $1 billion in a single fiscal year.

Looking ahead: AI and human collaboration at Treasury

Malik’s vision for the future of AI at Treasury emphasizes using these tools to enhance human capabilities, not replace them. Her approach to AI leadership positions people as the decision-makers and creators while involving AI in the routine everyday processes. Rather than phasing humans out of the loop, Malik believes the effective use of AI can help us be more human.

The team at the Treasury Department has rapidly progressed from speculating whether AI could be used to further its mission to using it effectively on a daily basis. Malik’s department is leading by example as it works toward successful government modernization using AI technology.

Treasury’s journey shows what’s possible when agencies put people at the center of AI adoption and implement AI leadership.

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