Thanks for the book recommendation, Vern: (The AI Prompt Playbook: Master AI Prompt Engineering with 140 Ready-to-Use Templates for ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini & Copilot (2026), by James Caldwell.) My copy will be here in two days.

👍

BTW, for all:

What DOGE taught us about AI and federal workers

Nextgov.com

What DOGE taught us about AI and federal workers

COMMENTARY | Mass layoffs have left thousands of federal workers unemployed and struggling to find their footing as AI accelerates disruption across the public sector.

Also:

When AI Forgets the Middle: A Hidden Risk for Proposal Ev...

What Stanford research and David Timm's webinar tell us about why AI in source selection is harder than it looks ⏱️10–11 min read | 3 copyable AI prompts included I sat in on the Greg and Camille Baro

And:

Prompt Productivity: Using AI in Government Contract Work

Explore how government agencies are leveraging AI to boost efficiency in contracting processes, streamline workflows and redefine productivity in the public sector.

And:

The Transformative Power of AI in USG Procurement

https://udayton.edu/law/government-contracting/articles/transforming-government-procurement-ai.php

And:

Skills and Training for AI-Driven Environments

To fully leverage the benefits of AI, USG contracting professionals must hone existing skills and develop new skills. Contracting professionals must ensure they have a strong understanding of the underlying regulations to avoid allowing a dependency on AI tools to reduce inherent contracting knowledge. In terms of new skills, technical proficiency in AI and data analytics tools is essential. Professionals need to understand how to use AI-driven platforms for vendor evaluation, contract management, and risk assessment. Moreover, a solid understanding of ethical AI use and compliance will be crucial as AI adoption increases. Continuous learning and adaptability will be key as AI technologies evolve, allowing contracting professionals to remain competitive in an AI-driven procurement landscape.

Shall we fear the future, or embrace it? Maybe a little bit of both?

To fully leverage the benefits of AI, USG contracting professionals must hone existing skills and develop new skills. Contracting professionals must ensure they have a strong understanding of the underlying regulations to avoid allowing a dependency on AI tools to reduce inherent contracting knowledge. In terms of new skills, technical proficiency in AI and data analytics tools is essential. Professionals need to understand how to use AI-driven platforms for vendor evaluation, contract management, and risk assessment. Moreover, a solid understanding of ethical AI use and compliance will be crucial as AI adoption increases. Continuous learning and adaptability will be key as AI technologies evolve, allowing contracting professionals to remain competitive in an AI-driven procurement landscaped

This is excellent guidance for the short term, in my opinion. But how long will this situation last where contracting professionals remain competitive and viewed as necessity? I can see over a relatively short time the bulk of the contracting work transitioning directly to program offices either using program personnel or by 1102s who migrated there to perform. This will be due to management noting there’s no advantage to maintaining a separate contracting function of any significant size but several cons in doing so. Perhaps the only functions remaining in the contracts office are limited policy and review/approval of major awards.

If I were an 1102 now I would be thinking how I can best position myself into that program office role. The keys are from what I said earlier:

To survive in the future, 1102s need to bring a more strategic and critical thinking focus to their jobs. They must position themselves to understand program needs and demonstrate benefit to the program by tailoring or crafting new approaches to fulfill mission requirements. As part of this role, they need to have AI tool literacy and utilize AI for assistance but not solely relying on it. They study the marketplace, technology, and developing trends affecting acquisition. They develop and improve upon interpersonal skills - lead and facilitate dialogue, brainstorming ideas, building consensus, utilize critical thinking and identify benefits and risks of various options, and serve as negotiation expert with industry and contractors. They focus on complex negotiations and the unique nuances of face-to-face interactions.

18 hours ago, Motorcity said:

Shall we fear the future, or embrace it? Maybe a little bit of both?

Embrace it! For the ambitious, this is the opportunity of a career lifetime.

Chances like this don't come often.

Some book recommendations:

The Essentials of AI for Beginners: A Step-By-Step Guide To Grasp AI Concepts, Stay Current With Future Trends, and Uncover Practical Applications (2024) (149 pp) by Caroline Hylands. Includes glossary and references.

The AI Workshop The Complete Beginner's Guide To AI Prompts: An A-Z Guide To AI Prompt Engineering for Life, Work, and Business. No Coding Required.2025) (169 pp) by Milo Foster.

Lastly, a very handy 6-page laminated reference sheet, ChatGPT Uses & Prompt, by Frank Blackwell (2024).

All are. available at Amazon.

The most useful thing I have learned thus far is to think in terms of having a conversation with AI, not just asking a question, one-and-done.

More reading recommendations to come as I work through them.