Committing to a U.S. Government-Industry Partnership to Empower AI Innovation

MF3d/iStock.com

Such a partnership could make prompt and significant progress in resolving the top barriers to AI innovation and deployment.

When it comes to artificial intelligence and the federal government, the range of impactful deployments appears limited only by human imagination. The Joint Artificial Intelligence Center of the Defense Department has successfully tested a disaster-response tool, for example, that uses AI to analyze overhead imagery from aircraft and satellites and then identify flooded areas and assess damage.

The development—summarized in a recent report from Accenture—illustrates AI’s promise to substantially enhance the efficiency and efficacy of federal agencies. Other real-life examples in the report include the Coast Guard’s leveraging of the technology to determine via satellite imagery whether a vessel should be inspected for suspected smuggling, and the Social Security Administration’s evaluation of documentation to support medical claims through AI.

AI is about solving problems. It applies predictive analytics to mission-related information and objectives so users can achieve optimal outcomes for future initiatives. It observes and captures data about increasingly complex systems and software/application components 24/7/365 to detect anomalies and identify the root causes of issues that result in performance disruptions and system degradations. What’s more, it automates effective responses to these issues, freeing up teams to focus on what they do best: developing and executing overarching strategies to best support their agency’s mission. (Note that I use the phrase “freeing up” teams here and not removing them … AI is about augmenting human capabilities, not replacing them.)

Clearly, government leaders are interested in this technology, as 91% of agencies are either piloting or adopting AI in some form, compared to just 73% of global organizations overall that are doing so, according to the Accenture report. In fact, AI could potentially augment nearly one-half of the average federal worker’s tasks. There are, however, challenges standing in the way, with 72% of federal officials, industry executives and IT decision-makers indicating that the government is not doing enough to increase its pace of AI adoption. When asked what’s holding back progress, 56% cite a lack of technical expertise, followed by resource constraints (49%) and ethical/bias concerns (48%).

The subsequent fallout amounts to far more than simply the failure of agencies to reach performance goals, as the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence’s final report in March paints a very dark and troubling picture of a future in which the U.S. falls far behind its adversaries. “America is not prepared to defend or compete in the AI era,” according to the report. “This is the tough reality we must face … We fear AI tools will be weapons of first resort in future conflicts … States, criminals and terrorists will conduct AI-powered cyber attacks and pair AI software with commercially available drones to create ‘smart weapons.’ It is no secret that America’s military rivals are integrating AI concepts and platforms to challenge the United States’ decades-long technology advantage. We will not be able to defend against AI-enabled threats without ubiquitous AI capabilities and new warfighting paradigms.”

That is an unsettling reality. But it’s one we can address today. And, in referencing “we,” I mean all of us, as urged in the commission report. “The U.S. government cannot do this alone,” it states. “It needs committed partners in industry, academia and civil society.”

From an industry perspective, we must take this on as our patriotic duty. We are not, after all, in the technology business strictly to make money. We do what we do to make a difference: a positive, lasting impact on our greater society.

This includes the government. When an adversary disrupts communications between an aircraft carrier and a drone, it compromises the mission. When a systems outage interrupts the distribution of a COVID-19 vaccine, it compromises the mission. Our industry commands the expertise and skill sets to work with federal leaders as devoted partners to maximize AI’s total potential to fix these problems.

In forming such a partnership, we would make prompt and significant progress in resolving the aforementioned top barriers to AI innovation and deployment: Our combined sector’s knowledge, work ethic and passion for ongoing discovery would immediately fill in any technology expertise gaps while providing agencies with needed outside resources in the form of available funding, talent and tools. We’d also help address the concerns about ethics and biases, as our industry’s people are a diverse collection of backgrounds and perspectives. This diversity ensures that no “single mindset” drives AI advancements.

Ultimately, we can work as partners with agencies so they are always at least two or three steps ahead of state adversaries, criminals and terrorists on AI, instead of constantly playing catch-up. As a result, we can make our nation and the world a safer place—and a better one.

Willie Hicks is the chief technology officer at Dynatrace Federal.

X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.