In a move hailed by most as a wise choice, President Obama announced his choice of Aneesh Chopra as Federal Chief Technology Officer (CTO). Certainly an interesting sign of the times as well as a logical follow up to what Obama started on his campaign with regards to leveraging technology.Apparently Chopra will be working with the CIO, and the official description of the work that lies ahead of him is to
"promote technological innovation to help achieve our most urgent priorities - from creating jobs and reducing health care costs to keeping our nation secure."
I personally think this is a fantastic idea - bravo Mr. President. It seems that looking at Mr. Chopra's record, and some of his accomplishments, that he will help to pull our analog government a little closer to the digital. In his post as CTO for the State of Virginia, for example, he made some quite significant strides in putting new technology to work for citizens. SOme of these accomplishments include:All of these examples seem to be not only good ideas, but critical if the administration is serious in its promises to fundamentally transform our government. In addition, the secondary effects, like bringing every day citizens up to speed on this technology so they too can use it to their benefit, will force the education of millions, which in turn will better prepare our workforce and students for future challenges.
- the first officially-approved open source textbook in the country, the Physics Flexbook
- integrating iTunes U with VA's state education system
- a social networking site to connect clinicians who work in health care centers in distant and remote locations
In all I am usually not this rosy about something, but I love the idea of a leaner, more accountable and more efficient government (who doesn't?) and I think that technology, and more over making technology a priority, is the only way we are going to get there.
For more information, this post is a good read, and you can hear from the man himself right here:
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