AIScoop

🌟 Yesterday, we had an incredible day at #AITalks! The event was filled with groundbreaking discussions and visionary insights into the future of AI in the public sector. Together, we delved deep into the transformative power of AI across government functions. Attendees had the privilege of gaining practical insights into fostering an AI-friendly culture, navigating implementation challenges, and leveraging AI to address emerging risks, thanks to our esteemed speakers and panelists. Engaging discussions on the underrepresentation of women in AI, healthcare advancements, strategic initiatives like the Executive Order reshaping federal AI adoption added depth to the day's conversations, and much more. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to everyone who joined us, our esteemed speakers: Drew Myklegard, Karen Dahut, Dr. Matthew Graviss, Dr. Kelly Fletcher, Susan Wedge, Dr. William Chappell, Steven Posnack, Robin Carnahan, Dorothy Aronson, Mina Hsiang, Eileen Vidrine, Alla Goldman Seiffert, Howard S., Rep. Ted Lieu, Trevor Brenn, Ann Dunkin, Jinyoung Englund, Vinay Vijay Singh, Zach Whitman, Dave Vennergrund, and Olivia Zhu, and our valued sponsors: Google for Government, Amazon Web Services (AWS), General Dynamics Information Technology, IBM, Microsoft in Government, Varonis, and Nutanix. Your participation and support were instrumental in making #AITalks a resounding success, fostering insightful discussions and driving innovation in the realm of AI. We eagerly anticipate continuing this journey together as we explore new frontiers and unlock the full potential of artificial intelligence in the public sector. Interested in our future events? Visit aiscoop.com/attend to learn more and reserve your spot!

At least one Senate Republican is ramping up a fight with Democrats over the country’s nascent artificial intelligence policy. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, floated a series of proposed amendments at a Senate Commerce Committee markup this week to scale back the Biden administration’s work to regulate the technology, including last October’s executive order. https://lnkd.in/euzJJr6J

The Senate Appropriations Committee approved a defense spending bill for fiscal 2025 Thursday that would provide “full funding” for the Pentagon’s high-profile autonomous systems initiatives known as Replicator — and lawmakers raised the possibility that even more money could be allotted for the effort. https://lnkd.in/ettSD5sW

🌟 We’re thrilled to announce the 2024 #FedScoop50 nominees! These awards honor the excellence and dedication of federal technology leaders who are leading the charge in government transformation. Recognizing their achievements and contributions, the FedScoop 50 Awards highlight those making a lasting impact on government operations and citizen services. Voting is open until Sept. 16. Show your support and vote for the leaders who inspire you: https://lnkd.in/eQYamT2F

From high-stakes elections to state agencies’ most banal processes, generative artificial intelligence is making its presence felt in state and local government agencies around the United States. StateScoop’s special report on artificial intelligence looks at how deepfakes and other uses of generative AI are influencing elections. It explores how the technology is changing some of government’s core functions, such as procurement and cybersecurity. https://lnkd.in/eyAHrSZP

On a normal day at the General Services Administration, agency staffers interested in using artificial intelligence-based platforms must submit a request and wait for approval to proceed. On Wednesday, those platforms were freed during the agency’s inaugural AI hackathon, a three-city competition that saw public and private sector participants attempt to “hack” federal agency websites and build out solutions for prizes. The event, held in Washington, D.C., Atlanta and New York City and co-sponsored by Microsoft and OpenAI, was part of the agency’s efforts to get the federal government to open up authoritative data and set it up for usability, GSA Administrator Robin Carnahan told reporters in D.C. https://lnkd.in/euC3s45X

State governments are moving fast to protect their agencies and publics from the potential harms that could be caused by generative artificial intelligence, but, like the internet itself, the rapidly evolving technology is demonstrating a reach and influence beyond any single organization’s control. Since ChatGPT opened to the public in November 2022, states have birthed hundreds of new bills, executive orders, committees, task forces and policies aimed at preempting the many potential harms that generative AI might exact on their communities, workforces and private data stores. State government’s leading technology officials have, loudly and often, made known their concerns about generative AI’s potential to amplify biases, spread misinformation and disrupt work and personal life. https://lnkd.in/eQttNv8r

The Army tested artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms for the first time at an annual experimentation to understand unknown signals on the battlefield. The effort was part of the Cyber Quest event held in July at Fort Eisenhower, Georgia. Cyber Quest is an experimentation venue where the Army seeks to test emerging technologies on either existing or desired capabilities brought by contractors that respond to specific problem statements from the service in order to help inform future requirements and concepts. https://lnkd.in/eBQ6FKqS

U.S. Cyber Command created an artificial intelligence task force within its high-end cyber unit that is focused on defending the nation from significant digital harm. “We created an AI Task Force and what the decision that we made is we put it inside of our largest operational organization. It’s inside the Cyber National Mission Force. [Commander] Maj. Gen. Lorna Mahlock has that team of expertise as a tool that when she’s got a hard problem, she can use that task force as one of the solutions,” Gen. Timothy Haugh, commander of Cybercom and director of the National Security Agency, said at a dinner hosted by the Intelligence and National Security Alliance Tuesday. https://lnkd.in/edMVKFJd

Amid concerns about U.S. competitiveness in artificial intelligence, the Senate Commerce, Science, and Technology Committee on Wednesday advanced a bevy of AI-focused bipartisan bills, though some fault lines emerged that could signal growing tension between the parties on the issue. Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., who chairs the committee, opened the session by setting the global stakes for AI development, noting that in the U.S., the technology “may increase annual GDP growth by $1.2 trillion to $3.8 trillion per decade, or even more, but China and other countries are investing hundreds of billions of dollars and taking actions to gain economic and national security advantage from AI.” https://lnkd.in/eMnd-pph