America doesn’t have a technology problem. The biggest tech companies and CEO’s are birthed out of the United States. But, it may have a purpose problem.
With more than three decades spent inside the National Security Agency (NSA), as the former Deputy Director, George Barnes (currently Cyber Practice President and Partner at Red Cell Partners) raises apprehension towards the generation that follows him. Technology accelerates and global threats multiply, fewer Americans are willing to do the work that actually keeps the country safe. Public service is no longer aspirational. Influencer culture is.
Remote work is the goal. Responsibility is optional.
And according to Barnes, that trade off is becoming a national security liability within the United States.
Barnes didn’t grow up chasing relevance. He grew up surrounded by it. His family’s life revolved around national service, including naval intelligence, government duty, missions that didn’t come with public credit.
“Our whole family comes from the standpoint of service to our nation,” he said.
That mindset, he argues, is rapidly disappearing, unfortunately.
Today’s young workforce particularly Gen Z commonly referred to as ‘Zoomers’ and younger millennials have been raised in an environment where loyalty is temporary, work can be transactional and meaning is often measured in engagement and vanity metrics rather than impact and service. Government roles are often seen as slow, restrictive and underpaid. Silicon Valley perks and social platforms promise visibility, flexibility, and flashy money.
“I worry [about] the change in work ethic,” he said.
Not because younger generations lack intelligence, but because many have never been forced to operate without digital scaffolding. Navigation apps. Automation. AI copilots. When systems fail, Barnes asks, “Who still knows how to function?”
Barnes pinpoints 2007 as the inflection point. The iPhone didn’t just change communication, it rewired society and brought it into people’s hands and as a result has now had a flow on effect towards the next generations taking up roles in the government.
“We became a digital society,” Barnes said. “And with every enhancement, we jumped at speed, efficiency, power…”
Now that risk is compounding.
AI is replacing entry-level jobs. Junior developers are no longer essential. Automation is erasing the apprenticeship layer that was the entry point after college.
And while Americans debate the work-from-home policies, adversaries aren’t waiting, they’re going in for the kill.
Barnes is forthright about the the threats and how he sees it today. Nation-states like China aren’t just innovating… they’re extracting.
“They’re drilling into our networks,” he said. “To steal intellectual property… and then designing and selling back against our markets.”
It’s an ongoing problem that will increase.
Barnes reflects on what happens when purpose slowly drains from public service and why that should concern the cybersecurity industry more than it perhaps currently does.
While Western democracies wrestle with ethics panels and workforce disengagement, state-backed actors are moving in fast, funding aggressively and using AI to compress years of development into months with the aim to weaken countries like the US.
Barnes has spent time in war zones. He’s seen trauma up close, military, civilian, and intelligence personnel carrying burdens the public never sees.
And yet, he says, at the end of the day, those roles still offer something no private sector job can replicate.
Purpose and service to your country.
“…And that gives you a sense of direction, purpose, relevance, all manner of positive feedback that comes from serving.”
Barnes spoke about his daughter who left a higher paid private sector role to return to government service. Not for status. Not for salary. But because she wanted to do ‘something bigger than herself.’
Democracy cannot be automated. And AI cannot replace accountability of course.
Yet, America is drifting toward a workforce optimised for comfort, not consequence.
It’s now about choice and how the industry bands together to provide pathways for those looking for a bigger purpose outside of the vendor conference scene.
Because while America scrolls, other nations are moving on in.
