Top Government Tech Leaders to Watch in 2023: CIA’s Lakshmi Raman

Lakshmi Raman

Director of Artificial Intelligence, CIA

As the director of artificial intelligence for the CIA, Lakshmi Raman is mandated to champion, orchestrate, integrate and mature AI activities across the organization.

“My current position is both the greatest challenge of my career as well as the most rewarding,” she said. “I am helping the CIA adapt to challenges posed by an evolving global technology and threat environment, as well as improve our ability to rapidly adopt and apply AI capabilities across mission.”

Raman’s major accomplishment last year was creating and implementing the CIA’s new AI strategy, which serves as a roadmap for the agency’s future endeavors in this crucial technology field. She also established agencywide governance around AI to improve awareness and use of AI, assess mission impacts, enhance current and future activities, identify needs and gaps and guide investment decisions.

Her supervisor alluded to her success in this space, saying, “Numerous participants on the corporate board praised Ms. Raman’s efforts to ensure inclusiveness and collaboration across the agency.”

Why Watch

In 2023, Raman and her team will focus on implementing the CIA’s AI strategy and creating policies for AI standards, tradecraft and governance.

See the entire Top Government Tech Leaders to Watch in 2023 list here.