Buying Blind: AI Procurement Risks Ethics with Jessica Tillipman

In this episode, Tom Fox welcomes Jessica Tillipman, Associate Dean for Government Procurement Law Studies; Government Contracts Advisory Council Distinguished Professorial Lecturer in Government Contracts Law, Practice & Policy. We take a deep dive into federal procurement and compliance.

We begin with Tillipman’s recent article “Buying Blind: Corruption Risk and the Erosion of Oversight in Federal AI Procurement.” Tillipman explains how her initial focus on AI as a tool to reduce procurement risk shifted after finding instances of AI exploitation and U.S. regulatory changes, raising concerns that contracting practices (commercial terms, limited audit rights, reduced testing and documentation) worsen AI’s inherent opacity. She contrasts government contracting’s “superpower” rights with transparency and competition mandates tied to taxpayer funds and discusses procurement tradeoffs between speed and oversight. Tillipman distinguishes fraud from waste and abuse, warning against conflating categories. She analyzes GSA’s proposed AI clause as overdue but overly broad and potentially unworkable, and stresses the importance of explainability, human oversight, and due process for consequential AI use. The conversation highlights procurement as a major corruption and compliance risk area and the need to invest in people and integrated teams.

Key highlights:

Government vs Private Contracting

Procurement Blind Spots

AI Procurement Black Box

Fraud, Waste, and Abuse

GSA AI Clause Debate

Training Future Leaders

Resources:

Jessica Tillipman at GW Law

Jessica Tillipman at LinkedIn

Jessica Tillipman Website

Jessica Tillipman Publication

Buying Blind: Corruption Risk and the Erosion of Oversight in Federal AI Procurement

Tom Fox

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For more information on the use of AI in Compliance programs, my new book, Upping Your Game, is available. You can purchase a copy of the book on Amazon.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices