Artificial Intelligence
Nonprofit sues 4 agencies for details on AI use in enacting Trump policy
Democracy Forward is suing four federal agencies in a bid to access official documentation regarding if and how AI has been used in the Trump administration’s policy execution.
Cybersecurity
Attorneys scramble to advise clients after lapse of key cyber info-sharing law
Organizations may lean on contract arrangements to facilitate data-sharing channels previously enabled by the now-expired regulation, a former U.S. official said.
Artificial Intelligence
VA AI strategy says early use cases will inform adoption in new EHR
“As AI tools are validated and show worth, they will be incorporated into the EHR and many other information technology platforms through coordination between innovators and the teams managing those systems today,” the department said.
Digital Government
Trump administration knocks out at least 15 oversight websites, saying IGs 'lied to the public'
It's not a shutdown issue: the White House is withholding funds from the umbrella organization for the government's inspectors general.
Digital Government
Government spirals toward shutdown with Trump promising mass layoffs
A last-ditch effort to keep government funded failed Tuesday night. Agencies will begin furloughing staff on Wednesday.
Digital Government
A shutdown will slow tech modernization, experts warn
Even after a shutdown ends, restarting stalled IT work doesn’t happen immediately.
Artificial Intelligence
Senators propose federal approval framework for advanced AI systems going to market
Bipartisan legislation from Sens. Hawley and Blumenthal would create a rigorous safety evaluation program and require advanced AI model developers to participate before being used in interstate or foreign commerce.
Defense
DOD would curtail long-term intelligence work during government shutdown
Routine spying activities conducted by NSA, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and others would continue, but some forward-looking intelligence planning would be halted, a department document shows.
Digital Government
The government shutdown playbook: cash flow, communication and recovery
The Professional Services Council is urging companies to secure their cash flow and identify agency contacts as they get ready for an all too familiar funding crisis.
Ideas
Military AI needs guardrails—not to slow it down, but to keep it useful
COMMENTARY | Modifying commercial models isn’t as easy as removing the parts that discourage users from killing people.
Cybersecurity
Shutdown could erode cyber defenses by sidelining critical staff, experts warn
A government shutdown would also occur in parallel with the lapse of a critical cyber information-sharing law that could create legal liabilities for companies who send threat data to feds.
People
Sides remain divided, White House predicts shutdown will occur on eve of funding lapse
Democratic leaders say “large differences” remain after meeting with President Trump.
Artificial Intelligence
White House seeks industry input as it crafts “anti-woke” AI guidelines
Critics have said that the July executive order on “woke” AI could chill free speech, despite the administration’s stated focus on protecting it.
Exclusive
Cybersecurity
‘Widespread’ breach let hackers steal employee data from FEMA and CBP
A Citrix vulnerability — suspected to have led to firings of multiple FEMA technology staff — enabled the breach, which let hackers pilfer data from FEMA servers connected to states at the southern border.
Modernization
Dave Powner returns to GAO, this time to advocate for its bipartisan, cost-saving work
“We are the watchdog for the Congress, and it's really important that they collectively know our value,” congressional relations official Dave Powner told Nextgov/FCW.
People
Layoff implementation work is exempted from shutdown, Trump admin says
Shutdown layoffs could be undone when funding is restored, according to new guidance.
Ideas
Flying under the radar: Congress is poised to let key counter-drone authorities lapse
COMMENTARY | It could put our nation’s critical infrastructure and American lives at risk by creating an unnecessary gap in the fabric of our nation’s security.
People
So far, many agency leaders are telling staff not to take shutdown layoff threat seriously
In at least one case, however, leadership has stressed that RIFs are a real possibility: “They want people to feel the impact of the shutdown."
People
Connolly's successor, James Walkinshaw, looks to carry on his IT and workforce legacy
“A shutdown gives the Trump administration no new legal authority to fire federal workers or to conduct reductions in force,” Rep. James Walkinshaw, D-Va., told Nextgov/FCW in response to the White House telling agencies to implement mass layoffs in the event of a funding lapse.
Cybersecurity