Digital trust in government often starts with something simple: whether a website works when a constituent needs it. Forum One CEO, Elisabeth Bradley, was recently interviewed by Orange Slices’ GovCon Executive Slice podcast for a candid conversation about digital trust, AI adoption, and what nearly thirty years of helping government agencies modernize has taught us about what actually works.

The conversation explores why digital trust has become inseparable from public trust, how agencies can think differently about creating meaningful digital experiences, and why successful AI adoption has far less to do with adopting the latest technology than it does with solving real mission challenges. Elisabeth reflects on what has changed, and what hasn’t, across three decades of supporting organizations working to improve lives, strengthen communities, and deliver on some of government’s most important missions.

A few highlights from the conversation:

On digital trust: Every online interaction someone has with a government agency shapes public trust. When a constituent hits a wall trying to apply for a benefit or find information they’re legally entitled to, it doesn’t just feel frustrating. It communicates something about whether the government cares about them. That’s not a UX problem. It’s a trust problem.

On AI adoption: The biggest mistake we see is leading with the technology instead of the problem. AI is only as good as the content and data it’s working with. If an organization’s web content is outdated or inconsistently structured, layering AI on top of that doesn’t fix anything. Getting the underlying content architecture right isn’t flashy work, but it’s more important now than it’s ever been. Read more here about how AI is changing digital information management for government agencies.

On what’s next: cross-agency autonomous agents that can knit together siloed government services on behalf of constituents. The technology is already here. The governance frameworks are the work ahead.

And on what makes Forum One different: we tend to get called in when the stakes are high and the digital problem isn’t just “we need a new website,” it’s “help us figure out what we should be doing at all.” That’s where we shine.

Give the full episode a listen!