CTO of the United States

Obama, during his campaign, committed to creating a new cabinet position named Chief Technology Officer, if he were to be elected. This commitment came out of his position on technology and how he would change policies and government attitudes towards it, all outlined on his campaign website in the technology section:

"Obama will appoint the nation's first Chief Technology Officer (CTO) to ensure that our government and all its agencies have the right infrastructure, policies and services for the 21st century."

Obama deserves kudos for thinking along the lines of creating a new cabinet position. It's an innovative presidential move, in my opinion. Many Obama supports point out how Obama has embraced technology during the election and up to inauguration. A great website like Change.gov, a forum for Americans to discuss what they would like the President-elect to focus on and receive updates from Obama's transition team, are unprecedented. The net result is a commendable demonstration that we have president who is not afraid of embracing new concepts or new approaches.

Who will be CTO?

Obama won the election, of course, and now the country awaits Obama to take office and pick his cabinet officials. After his election win, a flurry of speculation came forth picking potential CTO candidates. CEOs of companies like Steve Ballmer of Microsoft or Eric Schmidt of Google, were on many of the publics' short lists. Many of the more famous names have declined interest or stated that they have not been contacted by Obama's transition team, which is aiding Obama in selecting cabinet members. The public, then, is waiting to hear who will be the first CTO of the United States. No official word from Obama on potential candidates has come forth yet.

Responsibilities

While the CTO would have broad responsibilities for pushing government to modernize and serve citizens better, Obama has tied in the CTO position to his economic plan. He cites that increased adoption of high speed Internet connections by Americans is one factor that helps the economy grow, and that new jobs are being created by investments in technology, Internet or otherwise. For an example of job creation, consider jobs in Detroit created by investments in hybrid cars. Indeed, the US CTO will be responsible for thinking way more about just computer technologies and think more broadly about technology in general, from fuel cell technologies and beyond. Therefore, the CTO will be expected to think about technology's impact on the economy and recommend what to encourage through policy and regulation. The mandate is board. Use technology to lower health care costs. Improve America's competitiveness.

More Government?

Several technology leaders are libertarians and want as little government as possible. In my opinion, there are benefits to having a leader who can not only give direction to government agencies and how to modernize, but can help the private sector understand where to invest in. A high level, connected government official is in an excellent place to identify white space - needs in the economy or government needs. Making those needs public can only help energize the private sector. Why just wait for the market to discover the needs by itself if the needs can be identified. Let's not discourage government on this matter; lets support a national CTO.

Public Forums

If you have specific ideas on what the CTO should do, check out ObamaCTO.org, a privately operated website that is a forum for discussing the position. A list of current ideas on the website can be found here.