2021 Archived Content

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Keynotes & Tracks

The 3rd Annual AI World Government will provide a comprehensive two-day forum to educate federal agency leaders on proven strategies and tactics to deploy AI and cognitive technologies. With AI technology at the forefront of our everyday lives, the current administration is announcing several new and updated AI initiatives. AI World Government will report on the state-of-the-practice on how federal agencies are deploying and integrating AI and data-driven government services under these guidelines. The conference convenes experts from our nation’s strong innovation ecosystem across government, technology, business, and research to present the latest strategies and state of the technology to assist the public sector in leveraging advanced intelligent technologies to meet the missions of our government agencies.

The conference program will delve deeply into the following topic areas, and will include, but is not limited to the following subjects:

October 18, 2021 | 9:00 am – 12:25 pm ET

Co-Chairs:

Adelaide O'Brien Adelaide O’Brien, Research Director, Government Digital Transformation Strategies, IDC

Ruthbea Clarke, Vice President, Government, Education, and Smart Cities and Communities, IDC

7:30 am - 6:00 pm In-Person Registration Opens

8:15 Morning Coffee

9:00 Chairperson’s Remarks

Adelaide O'Brien Adelaide O’Brien, Research Director, Government Digital Transformation Strategies, IDC

9:20 KEYNOTE: Managing the Complexity of Adopting AI

Tim Grayson Timothy Grayson, PhD, Director, Strategic Technology Office (STO), Office Director, DARPA

Managing large enterprises and designing large, interconnected architectures is inherently complex. This is seen in the commercial world in design of the Industrial Internet of Things or IIoT, and it is epitomized in what DARPA calls Mosaic Warfare. AI provides opportunities to manage this complexity – whether it is for planning a highly dispersed enterprise, managing the resulting need for adaptive interoperability, or helping humans function amidst that complexity. At the same time, tailoring and deploying AI in this environment can itself become overwhelmingly complex. This keynote will describe DARPA’s vision for Mosaic IIoT, discuss how AI can help implement it, and then present some of the technical, institutional, and cultural challenges for AI adoption and potential approaches to overcome them.

9:45 KEYNOTE: Composite AI: Leveraging Multiple Analytic Techniques for Greater Impact

Bryan Harris, Executive Vice President & Chief Technology Officer, SAS

On the front lines of critical issues and complex questions, the demand for government agencies to make rapid decisions is outpacing their ability to analyze high volumes of diverse data. In order to get from data to decisions faster, and adapt to future unknowns, we must look beyond a "one size fits all" approach to AI. This session explores the concept of composite AI, which harnesses multiple analytic techniques, to push the boundaries of scalable decision making. Real-world examples will showcase how agencies can achieve impactful and equitable outcomes, and make a difference for the citizens they serve.

10:10 KEYNOTE: Algorithms, Experts, and Crowds: New Boundaries in an Age of Cyber Conflict

Ted Okada, CTO, FEMA

The world of AI has long managed a historic reliance on the separation of analysis and engineering, risk schematics, and discrete product delivery. The “power of algorithms, insight of the experts, and the wisdom of the crowds” still casts a protracted shadow over our field. However, in a fundamentally open society, how do we either orient or act with precision in the near weightlessness of constant ambient cyber conflict? In this session, we will explore and question new emerging boundaries in the relationship between risk and trust.

10:30 am - 6:00 pm Exhibit Hall Hours

10:35 Coffee Break with Exhibitors

11:00 KEYNOTE: Harnessing AI Strategy to Reach the Next Phase in Government

Ed Van Buren, Principal, Government AI Lead & Executive Director, Deloitte AI Institute for Government, Government and Public Services, Deloitte Consulting LLP

Ed will share how AI has the potential to transform government, and introduce results from a new Deloitte survey, which outlines government’s overall AI understanding, AI strategy and readiness, and challenges with AI administration. The session will outline five key things agencies need to do to take AI from pilot-project purgatory to broader adoption and innovation.

11:25 KEYNOTE: Is There a Future for Standards for Ethical AI: A Crossfire Chat between Governance and Engineering

Speaker Placeholder Sara Jordan, PhD, Policy Counsel, Artificial Intelligence, The Future of Privacy Forum

Beth-Anne Schuelke-Leech, PhD, Associate Professor of Engineering, University of Windsor

In this dual keynote, the speakers address the challenge of developing ethical AI. Dr. Jordan asks whether AI Ops and AI governance mechanisms will be enough to ensure ethical AI. Dr. Schuelke-Leech asks whether ethical AI is compatible with engineering norms and practices. Starting from these two perspectives, the speakers identify points of overlap and points of divergence that audience members can take away to revise and guide plans for ethical AI.

11:50 KEYNOTE: The Promise and Perils of Using AI to Make Employment Decisions

Keith E. Sonderling, Commissioner, United States Equal Opportunity Commission

AI-driven technologies have the potential to make the workplace more open, fair, and inclusive by eliminating unlawful discrimination from employment decisions. However, AI can also amplify workplace bias if it is poorly designed or carelessly deployed. This presentation will discuss the ways that U.S. civil rights laws protect employees from discrimination by AI and suggest ways that employers can reap the benefits of AI while respecting the rights of workers.

12:15 pm IDC Morning Wrap-Up

Ruthbea Clarke, Vice President, Government, Education, and Smart Cities and Communities, IDC

12:25 Networking and Dessert with Exhibitors

12:35 - 12:55 Luncheon Keynote: Artificial Intelligence - It’s Not Just in the Algorithm

Robert Ames, Senior Director, National Technology Strategy, Office of the CTO, VMware

This talk will briefly outline VMware’s R&D focus in ML and AI and highlight some important factors to consider and address as we continue to develop AI capabilities and experience.

1:00 - 5:10 Afternoon Track Sessions

5:10 Networking Reception in the Exhibit Hall

6:00 Close of Day 1

October 19, 2021 | 9:00 am – 12:00 pm ET

Co-Chairs:

Adelaide O'Brien Adelaide O’Brien, Research Director, Government Digital Transformation Strategies, IDC

Alison Brooks, PhD, Research Vice President, Worldwide Public Safety, IDC

8:15 am - 2:20 pm In-Person Registration Opens

8:15 Morning Coffee

9:00 Conference Chair Introduction Day 2

Adelaide O'Brien Adelaide O’Brien, Research Director, Government Digital Transformation Strategies, IDC

9:15 KEYNOTE: Advancing Trustworthy AI and ML Techniques for Mitigating Agency Risks

Pamela Isom Pamela K. Isom, Director, Artificial Intelligence & Technology Office, U.S. Department of Energy

You have most likely heard about the risks associated with leveraging AI and Machine Learning (ML) assets but what exactly do we mean and how might one go about establishing trustworthy AI outcomes? Everyone speaks about data as the biggest hurdle and time consumer for data science, but what is the linkage to responsible, explainable, trustworthy AI and ethics? The presenter is passionate about mitigating risks and delves into this evolutionary topic with a focus on AI and ML, with practical methodologies and applied outcomes that are making a difference for better AI/ML stewardship in both public and private sectors.

9:40 KEYNOTE: An AI Accountability Framework for Federal Agencies and Other Entities

Taka Ariga, Chief Data Scientist, Director, Innovation Lab, U.S. Government Accountability Office

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently published a first-of-its-kind oversight framework on artificial intelligence that is aimed at helping federal agencies and their partners implement accountable AI systems. This framework applies an auditor’s perspective to evaluate performance as well as societal impacts of AI. More importantly, it sets out key practices, questions, and audit procedures that apply across key stakeholders of AI systems and across AI development lifecycle. As oversight entities mobilize to address accountability challenges associated with AI, learn how GAO intends to make sure AI capabilities are implemented effectively, efficiently, equitably, economically, and ethically across federal agencies.

10:05 KEYNOTE: Best Practices for Implementing AI at Scale

Anil Chaudhry, Director, Federal AI Implementations, AI Center of Excellence Technology Transformation Services, General Services Administration (GSA)

For organizations looking for “what works” in procuring AI services, hiring trained staff, preparing a program justification or capturing program accomplishment, Anil Chaudhry will offer some tips and best practices from GSA’s AI Center of Excellence.

10:30 am - 12:40 pm Exhibit Hall Hours

10:30 Coffee Break with Exhibitors

10:50 KEYNOTE: The Beginnings of AI Engineering: Thinking through How to Build AI Better

Matthew Gaston, PhD, Director, Emerging Technology Center, Carnegie Mellon University

Interest and investment in modern AI techniques have produced powerful capabilities in computer vision, natural language generation, and game playing. However, building AI systems is still a craft and many AI projects fail to make it to production. This keynote will motivate the need for an AI Engineering discipline, lay out a framework for AI Engineering, and identify initial progress toward realizing scalable, robust, and human-centered AI systems.

11:15 LEADERS PANEL: AI, Ethics and Smart Policy

Join this executive panel discussion to glean best practice insights from global leaders in the AI ethics and smart policy sphere. This session will dive into the progress that has been made internationally in creating AI systems that are safe and trustworthy. It will also address how public sector agencies can work collaboratively to enact smart policy frameworks to help guide technology deployments effectively and ethically.

Moderator:

Alison Brooks, PhD, Research Vice President, Worldwide Public Safety, IDC

Panelists:

Ross Coffey, Military Professor of National Security Affairs, U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Naval War College

Carol Smith Carol J. Smith, Senior Research Scientist, Human-Machine Interaction, AI Division of the Software Engineering Institute, Carnegie Mellon University

Taka Ariga, Chief Data Scientist, Director, Innovation Lab, U.S. Government Accountability Office

11:50 IDC Morning Wrap-Up

Alison Brooks, PhD, Research Vice President, Worldwide Public Safety, IDC

12:00 pm Enjoy Lunch on Your Own & Dessert with Exhibitors

12:40 - 3:10 Afternoon Track Sessions

3:10 Session Break

3:15 Closing Plenary Session

Moderator:

Alison Brooks, PhD, Research Vice President, Worldwide Public Safety, IDC

Panelists:

Curt Savoie, Program Director, Global Smart Cities Strategies, IDC

Adelaide O'Brien Adelaide O’Brien, Research Director, Government Digital Transformation Strategies, IDC

Matthew Butkovic, Technical Director, Cyber Risk and Resilience Directorate, CERT Division of the Software Engineering Institute, Carnegie Mellon University (CMU)

Randall (Randy) F. Trzeciak, Principal Researcher, Technical Director (Acting), Security Automation Directorate, CERT; Deputy Director, Cyber Risk & Resilience Directorate, CERT; Director, CERT National Insider Threat Center; CERT Division, Software Engineering Institute, Carnegie Mellon University

3:45 Close of AI World Government 2021

Track 1: Scaling and Operationalizing AI

October 18, 2021 | 1:00 – 5:10 pm ET

Track Chair:

Adelaide O'Brien Adelaide O’Brien, Research Director, Government Digital Transformation Strategies, IDC

Alison Brooks, PhD, Research Vice President, Worldwide Public Safety, IDC

The successful deployment of AI will prove to be valuable for government agencies, but several challenges remain in moving beyond simple intelligent automation like RPA and chatbots to reach the goal of augmented intelligence. In this track we will present agency and industry executives with experience confronting these challenges and how they are dealing with roadblocks and learning from their successful strategies. Topics include:

Confronting the challenges of scaling and operationalizing AI
How to use AI to improve service delivery
Federal agency case studies which focus on the challenges and specific solutions
Reengineering agency workflows and processes
Developing data management and governance strategies
Organizing stakeholders to determine roles of team members
Creating policies to ensure responsible and ethical AI

1:00 pm Opening Remarks

Adelaide O'Brien Adelaide O’Brien, Research Director, Government Digital Transformation Strategies, IDC

1:15 Building the AI Powered Enterprise

Steven Moore, Director, Artificial Intelligence Solutions, Chief Technology Officer, Huntington Ingalls Industries

As the impact of AI spreads across the Nation’s Defense, government organizations and contractors will need to transform. To deploy, control, and win with new AI technology, we present our observations about the transformation. Business models, processes, infrastructure, workforce, and culture will all require evolution. The confluence of cloud computing, IoT, and readily available AI tools, is accelerating AI implementation. The stakes are high and change needs to happen quickly.

1:40 Ethics: The Key to Operationalizing AI-Enabled Autonomous Weapons

Ross Coffey, Military Professor of National Security Affairs, U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Naval War College

While the nature of war remains unchanged, the character of war is facing rapid changes -- particularly due to AI. The advent of AI-enabled autonomous weapon systems and their future is not a question of hardware or software but of the humanities. An understanding of the ethics surrounding the issues and the ethical competence needed by those in the AI workforce and those in non-technical fields is therefore increasingly critical to operationalize the challenges posed by these systems.

2:05 CO-PRESENTATION: All the Hype but Low Traction: Seeking an Adoption Philosophy to Advance AI Technology

Olga Livingston, PhD, Senior Economist, Office of the Chief Economist, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency

Brett Tucker, Technical Manager, Cyber Risk Management, CERT, Carnegie Mellon University, Software Engineering Institute

Despite the vast potential applications of AI to improve and transform federal government agencies and the services they provide; adoption of AI across the federal government remains relatively low. This discussion will highlight the barriers and catalysts of the AI adoption in the federal sector with specific focus on the need for transparent performance data and significant effort towards demystification of the AI to allow for evidence-based adoption decisions.

2:30 Refreshment Break in the Exhibit Hall

2:35 - 3:05 Virtual Meet & Greet

For those who are unable to attend AI World Government onsite this year, this dedicated session offers you the chance to connect with fellow, virtual attendees from across the technology and government landscape. Grab a coffee from home, your office or wherever you are tuning in from, and engage in an open and informal conversation with your peers hosted by the AI World team.

TABLE TOPICS:

Remove Workers Unite
AI & ML Enthusiasts & Strategists
Cybersecurity Heroes
Talking Tech: Engineers, Scientists, Architects …

3:10 PANEL: Experience Exchange – Overcoming the Barriers to Scaling and Operationalizing AI

All digital transformation requires people, process, and technology components to be planned and deployed in unison. AI is no different; it only has the ability to scale or fail much faster if not planned and implemented properly. Based on experiences with AI projects including developing scalable data and analytics services in the federal government, predictive maintenance for an aircraft fleet, and the identification of illicit wildlife trafficking across an entire continent, this panel will share practical lessons that can be leveraged to overcome challenges and ensure project success.

Moderator:

Jaime Fitzgibbon, AI/ML Program Manager, Contractor, Department of Defense, Defense Innovation Unit

Panelists:

Ambuj Neupane, Director, Data and Analytics, Centers of Excellence, General Services Administration (GSA)

Landon Van Dyke, Senior Advisor for the Office of Management, Strategy & Solutions, U.S. Department of State

Anthony Robbins, Federal Vice President, NVIDIA

4:00 Scaling AI Compute for Research and Production

Andy Hock, PhD, Vice President, Product Management, Cerebras Systems

Scaling and operationalizing AI for government-scale applications requires massive computing resources. Current infrastructure using clusters of small GPUs to train large AI models can take weeks inhibiting innovation, time to deployment, and delayed inference. Andy will introduce Cerebras’ revolutionary solution for AI compute, the record-setting Wafer Scale Engine 2 and CS-2 system, delivering orders of magnitude more performance than traditional processors to enable AI at an unparalleled scale.

4:25 Software Engineering for Machine Learning

Grace Lewis, PhD, Principal Researcher and Tactical and AI-Enabled Systems (TAS) Initiative Lead, Carnegie Mellon Software Engineering Institute

ML-enabled systems are increasingly being used to support capabilities such as decision making, user assistance, and data analysis. The challenges of developing and deploying these systems have been extensively reported. While some of these challenges stem from characteristics of ML components, ML-enabled systems are software systems! This presentation will introduce a set of practices in software engineering for ML and report on findings from recent research projects and customer engagements.

4:50 IDC Wrap-Up Day 1

Adelaide O'Brien Adelaide O’Brien, Research Director, Government Digital Transformation Strategies, IDC

Alison Brooks, PhD, Research Vice President, Worldwide Public Safety, IDC

5:00 Networking Reception in the Exhibit Hall

6:00 Close of Day 1

Track 2: Emerging AI Technologies

October 18, 2021 | 1:00 – 5:10 pm ET

Track Chair:

Curt Savoie, Program Director, Global Smart Cities Strategies, IDC

Your agency has begun implementing ML, DL & AI tools into current workflows and infrastructure and are starting to see some gains, but where do you go from here and what’s coming next? With AI and its associated intelligent technologies continuing to advance each day with the potential to enable new applications and drive even greater efficiencies, those spearheading digital transformation within government agencies must stay up to speed on these emerging tools. This track provides attendees with a roadmap for the continuing evolution of AI over the next few years. Topics include:

The State of AI Today within Government and What’s Coming Next?
Short vs. Long-Term Government Needs and Associated Technologies Available
Latest Advances in Computer Vision, Facial Recognition & Image Analysis with AI
Future Conversational AI & Language-Based AI
Developments in Autonomous Vehicles and Drones
Advances in Intelligent and Robotic Process Automation
Everything You Need to Know About Quantum Computing
AI at the Edge – Edge vs. Cloud Computing in Government
Combining AI with Augmented and Virtual Reality

1:00 pm Opening Remarks

Curt Savoie, Program Director, Global Smart Cities Strategies, IDC

1:15 Traffickcam: Explainable Image Search for Sex Trafficking Investigations

Robert Pless, PhD, Chairperson and Endowed Professor, Computer Science, George Washington University

Online advertising imagery is highly associated with sex trafficking. This presentation will detail efforts to improve the ways image search can help sex-trafficking investigations in a system deployed at the National Center for Missing and Exploited children that indexes more than half a million hotels. Technical improvements include improved search accuracy, privacy, and explainability, in ways that may relate to other uses of AI in government.

1:40 PANEL: Outlining the Necessary Foundations to Leverage Evolving & Emerging AI Technologies & Applications

This panel will convene those actively involved in ML & AI projects to share their experiences and tangible learnings on the implementation of current AI tools, as well as how to plan for the successful implementation of emerging and future technologies as they become available. This panel will tackle key topics including:

Uncovering the technologies, frameworks and foundations that must be in place today to ensure government agencies are ready to implement future technologies as they become available
Short vs. long-term strategic planning for AI
Developing your AI roadmap for 2022 and beyond
COVID-19 Impacts – which technologies have been accelerated vs those held back?
How to incorporate advances in technology into overall business strategy?
How do you take a long-established organization to the point of true digital transformation with AI?
What’s coming next?

Moderator:

Curt Savoie, Program Director, Global Smart Cities Strategies, IDC

Panelists:

Anil Chaudhry, Director of AI Implementations, IT Modernization Centers of Excellence, General Services Administration (GSA)

Krista Kinnard, Chief of Emerging Technology, Office of the Chief Information Officer, U.S. Department of Labor

Jean-Charles Lede Jean-Charles Ledé, Autonomy Technology Advisor, Air Force Research Lab, U.S. Air Force

Shaun Barry Shaun Barry, Global Lead – Government & Healthcare, SAS

2:30 Refreshment Break in the Exhibit Hall

2:35 - 3:05 Virtual Meet & Greet

TABLE TOPICS:

Remove Workers Unite
AI & ML Enthusiasts & Strategists
Cybersecurity Heroes
Talking Tech: Engineers, Scientists, Architects …

3:10 PANEL: Innovation Equity & AI: Technology’s Role in Inclusiveness, Resilience & Equality in the Post-COVID Era

Topics:

How can governments and industry work together to invest in technologies to close gaps, remove barriers, and provide underserved populations access to new opportunities?
Re-thinking R&D practices, increasing mobility and access, connecting to more digital services, and having the ability to live in safe, smart, and resilient communities.
What is the role of AI and emerging technologies such as quantum to close gap and build resilience?
How to ensure all communities have the resources, tools and talent to bounce back from the pandemic era, and what role can AI/quantum play?

Moderator:

Matthew James Bailey, Founder, AIEthics.World

Panelists:

Rhonda Binda, Queens Deputy Borough President, Office of the Queens Borough President

Speaker Placeholder David Alexander, PhD, Senior Science Advisor, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, S&T

3:35 Real-World AI for Transportation Safety Research

Robert Rittmuller, Technical Program Manager / Deep Learning Practioner / Cybersecurity Researcher, Volpe National Transportation Systems Center, Federal Department of Transportation

The use of AI in transportation research is revolutionizing how we collect, analyze, and ultimately understand transportation data. Policy decisions resulting from research can have massive and difficult to predict impacts on mobility, safety, and the economy. This presentation will cover multiple USDOT projects where AI was used to extract insights from transportation datasets using computer vision. Use cases, technical challenges, and successful methodologies will be discussed that illustrate how AI can be leveraged to improve transportation research and safety.

4:00 PANEL: AI in Action: Emerging Applications of AI for Good

The IBM Watson AI XPRIZE was a 5-year competition that challenged teams from all around the world to use AI to solve grand challenges. In this talk, hear from two of the finalist teams about how they use AI in the real world to solve issues such as depression, combatting sex trafficking, and malaria prevention. Learn about how incentivized prizes can help government organizations drive innovation through public/private collaborations, and how responsible and inclusive AI can uplift humanity.

Moderator:

Speaker Placeholder Devin Krotman, Director, Prizes, XPRIZE Foundation

Panelists:

Michael Ben Aharon, Vice President, Partnerships and Growth, Zzapp Malaria

Speaker Placeholder David Benrimoh, PhD, CEO, Aifred Health

Speaker Placeholder Cara Jones, CEO and Co-founder, Marinus Analytics

4:50 IDC Wrap-Up Day 1

Curt Savoie, Program Director, Global Smart Cities Strategies, IDC

5:00 Networking Reception in the Exhibit Hall

6:00 Close of Day 1

Track 3: Infrastructure Transformation

October 18, 2021 | 1:00 – 5:10 pm ET

Track Chair: Ruthbea Clarke, Vice President, Government, Education, and Smart Cities and Communities, IDC

As government IT departments continue to explore ways that AI can enable innovation, productivity, and efficiencies, a key question is how to develop the right talent and infrastructure to support these compute-intensive, next-generation applications. From cloud-based data centers to edge computing nodes, AI demands a tremendous number of resources and budget, whilst also requiring the skillsets to effectively manage these applications. This track explores the people, process and tools required to help organizations capitalize on the potential of AI and machine learning and provides best practice examples of agencies on the cutting edge of AI and ML implementations. Topics include:

Build vs buy necessary infrastructure to capitalize on the potential of AI
Talent, skills and training needs
budget and procurement vehicles
Data Management: Leveraging the Federal Data Strategy
Infrastructure transformation: Overcoming infrastructure challenges to AI adoption

1:00 pm Opening Remarks

Ruthbea Clarke, Vice President, Government, Education, and Smart Cities and Communities, IDC

1:15 Building the Army's AI Development Platform: Victories and Lessons Learned

Isaac Faber, PhD, Chief Data Scientist, U.S. Army Artificial Intelligence Task Force, Futures Command Artificial Intelligence Task Force, United States Army

Coeus is a collaborative platform for the Army’s data workforce including data scientists, data analysts, data labelers and machine learning (artificial intelligence) engineers. The platform's purpose is to make infrastructure, data, and software resources easy to access and share in collaborative settings for data projects. This talk presents Coeus, its features, capabilities, and discusses lessons learned and challenges that were overcome during development and deployment providing AI specific insight on the architecture and tooling for an effective AI modeling development system.

1:40 When You Think AI, Do You Think Talent and Budget? Probably not…But You Should

Ryan Sullivan, Director of Staff, Department of the Air Force, Chief Data Office

At the foundation of thriving AI ecosystems lies forecasted views of talent resources, up-leveling and training needs, and budget and procurement vehicles – existing and imagined – to remain agile and advance at the speed of mission and relevancy. Talent and Budget are often underemphasized but are essential to building the right culture of AI innovation and success.

2:30 Refreshment Break in the Exhibit Hall

2:35 - 3:05 Virtual Meet & Greet

TABLE TOPICS:

Remove Workers Unite
AI & ML Enthusiasts & Strategists
Cybersecurity Heroes
Talking Tech: Engineers, Scientists, Architects …

3:10 PANEL: Innovation Equity & AI: Technology’s Role in Inclusiveness, Resilience & Equality in the Post-COVID Era

Topics:

How can governments and industry work together to invest in technologies to close gaps, remove barriers, and provide underserved populations access to new opportunities?
Re-thinking R&D practices, increasing mobility and access, connecting to more digital services, and having the ability to live in safe, smart, and resilient communities.
What is the role of AI and emerging technologies such as quantum to close gap and build resilience?
How to ensure all communities have the resources, tools and talent to bounce back from the pandemic era, and what role can AI/quantum play?

Moderator:

Matthew James Bailey, Founder, AIEthics.World

Panelists:

Rhonda Binda, Queens Deputy Borough President, Office of the Queens Borough President

Speaker Placeholder David Alexander, PhD, Senior Science Advisor, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, S&T

3:35 Real-World AI for Transportation Safety Research

Robert Rittmuller, Technical Program Manager / Deep Learning Practioner / Cybersecurity Researcher, Volpe National Transportation Systems Center, Federal Department of Transportation

4:00 PANEL: Transformation of Infrastructure BOTH to Support AI and by AI

Unleashing the power of AI has been a key priority for government for some time now; however, legacy frameworks and systems combined with cost and resource limitations can often mean that the infrastructure required to support AI is far from reality. On the other side of this discussion, AI can also be applied to assist/monitor/improve existing infrastructure and data collection. This panel explores both sides of this coin. Key questions to be discussed include:

What are the fundamental infrastructure capabilities necessary to support AI? (i.e., high compute and storage capacity and robust networking infrastructure)
Infrastructure transformation: overcoming challenges to AI adoption
Build vs. buy?
Should legacy systems be upgraded or is an overhaul required?
What are the impacts from remote working? (i.e., privacy implications)
How can AI assist in the monitoring and management of system and network resources?
Establishing secure systems and using AI to monitor security?
Using AI to reduce system costs and improve performance

Moderator:

Ruthbea Clarke, Vice President, Government, Education, and Smart Cities and Communities, IDC

Panelists:

Ola Olude-Afolabi, PhD, Technology Business Management (TBM) OSSD Liaison/IT PM, Office of Enterprise Technology, Office of Secretary, CIO, U.S. Department of Commerce

Calvert Smith, Director, Cloud Adoption, Centers of Excellence, GSA TTS

Speaker Placeholder Frederick Streitz, PhD, Science Advisor, Artificial Intelligence and Technology Office, U.S. Department of Energy

4:50 IDC Wrap-Up Day 1

Ruthbea Clarke, Vice President, Government, Education, and Smart Cities and Communities, IDC

5:00 Networking Reception in the Exhibit Hall

6:00 Close of Day 1

Track 4: Risk, Resiliency & Responsible AI

October 19, 2021 | 12:40 – 3:45 pm ET

Track Chairs:
Matthew Butkovic, Technical Director, Cyber Risk and Resilience Directorate, CERT Division of the Software Engineering Institute, Carnegie Mellon University

AI has injected new capabilities into government and is already improving the missions and functions of federal, state, and local governments as well as governments globally. However, with globally interconnected IT allowing criminals, fraudsters, and hostile nations to continuously innovate, we must be mindful of AI-related risks related to cybersecurity and counter-misinformation and continue to build resilience, whilst ensuring responsible AI. Furthermore, AI itself has unique security challenges because of the nature of the algorithms involved so AI should be developed through a “secure by design” approach and algorithms must be protected. This track will convene AI security experts alongside those who are responsible for risk and security within government agencies to share lessons learned and best practices in mitigating these serious challenges. Topics include:

Creating Your AI and Cybersecurity Strategy
Guidelines for Responsible AI
AI, Risk Mitigation and Building Resilience
What Are the Key Threats to Watch Out For?
Application of AI for Predicting and Preventing Cybersecurity Threats
New Challenges in Countering Misinformation and Disinformation
How to Fool an AI by Feeding It Misleading Data?
How to Know If Either an External or An Internal AI Is Leading You Astray, And What to Do About It
Call to Action for Mitigating Future Risk and Threats

12:40 pm Opening Remarks

Matthew Butkovic, Technical Director, Cyber Risk and Resilience Directorate, CERT Division of the Software Engineering Institute, Carnegie Mellon University (CMU)

12:55 Liberating AI to accelerate Build Back Better

Matthew James Bailey, Founder, AIEthics.World

Artificial Intelligence has the potential to play a herculean role in assisting the human species to leap beyond the challenges of today. Its promise is to assist nations to Build Back Better and advance into secure, resilient, nourishing and flourishing world futures. Whilst not being a panacea, this emerging digital partner has the potential to liberate society and commerce into equitable, beneficial and thrilling experiences. The époque of humans and machines is under way. Choices made today will determine how well artificial intelligence participates to ethically and responsibly advance civilizations.

So, how can we steward Artificial Intelligence to be ethical and responsible in its construction, actions and impact? In this talk, Matthew James Bailey, discusses the pros and cons and the latest strategies on how Artificial Intelligence can be ethically and responsibly liberated, to assist nations, cities and communities in making Build Back Better a powerful phenomenon.

1:20 PANEL: Defend against AI-Related Threats: Risk Mitigation Strategies and Building Resilience

Federal government agencies must become more resilient in order to maximize their ability to withstand disruptions. Shifts in technology provide such disruption with Artificial Intelligence (AI) being no exception. This panel will convene AI security experts alongside those responsible for security within government agencies to share risk response strategies and key lessons learned. Attendees will learn the importance of good risk management practices that reduce exposure to serious cybersecurity and AI-related threats. Key topics to be discussed include:

Key risks to consider with new technologies
Analytic strategies to qualify and quantify risk
Optimal frameworks with security and risk management at the forefront
Potential application of AI for addressing cybersecurity threats
New challenges in managing data in terms of amount as much as quality
Supply chain risk management considerations for AI-related technologies

Moderator:

Chuck Brooks, Adjunct Faculty, Graduate in Applied Intelligence Program, Georgetown University

Panelists:

Speaker Placeholder Brett Tucker, Technical Manager, Cyber Risk Management, Software Engineering Institute

Amy Henninger Amy E. Henninger, PhD, CEH, CISSP, CMSP, HQE Senior Advisor for Software and Cybersecurity; Director Operational Test and Evaluation, Department of Defense

Speaker Placeholder Christina Canavan, Managing Director, Risk and Financial Advisory, Cyber and Strategic Risk, Government and Public Services, Deloitte

2:10 Refreshment Break

2:20 Protect Your Machine Learning Applications from SolarWinds' Attacks

Mark Sherman, PhD, Director, Cybersecurity Security Foundations Directorate, CERT Division, Carnegie Mellon University Software Engineering Institute

Machine learning applications are more susceptible to SolarWinds-style attacks than conventional software. Building and deploying machine learning applications expand the cyber risk based on more dependencies on multiple and deep supply chains. Organizations need to understand the risks being introduced and plan for appropriate measures to manage the risk.

2:45 Responsible AI Guidelines

Jared Dunnmon, PhD, Technical Director, AI/ML, Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), U.S. Department of Defense

Bryce Goodman, Chief Strategist for AI, Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), U.S. Department of Defense

In early 2020, the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) launched a strategic initiative to put Department of Defense Artificial Intelligence (AI) Ethical Principles into practice. DIU’s Responsible AI Guidelines, provide operationally focused guidance on how to implement the AI principles at each step in the development cycle. The Guidelines are actively deployed in 6 DIU programs ranging from software to hardware applications. This panel will provide a Guideline overview and lessons learned.

3:10 Session Break

3:15 Closing Plenary Session

Moderator:

Alison Brooks, PhD, Research Vice President, Worldwide Public Safety, IDC

Panelists:

Curt Savoie, Program Director, Global Smart Cities Strategies, IDC

Adelaide O'Brien Adelaide O’Brien, Research Director, Government Digital Transformation Strategies, IDC

Matthew Butkovic, Technical Director, Cyber Risk and Resilience Directorate, CERT Division of the Software Engineering Institute, Carnegie Mellon University (CMU)

3:45 Close of AI World Government 2021

Track 5: Future of Work

October 19, 2021 | 12:40 – 3:45 pm ET

Track Chair:

Adelaide O'Brien Adelaide O’Brien, Research Director, Government Digital Transformation Strategies, IDC

Alison Brooks, PhD, Research Vice President, Worldwide Public Safety, IDC

As government and private sector organizations navigate new ways of working, fundamental questions revolve around "what applications should be deployed" and "what new skillsets are required"? The growth and adoption of AI and intelligent automation solutions are giving rise to a new "digital worker" – automated technology that is rapidly changing the nature of the human workforce and related skillsets. Work transformation is about rethinking the way work gets done. It is a fundamental shift in the work model to one that fosters human-machine collaboration, enables new skills and worker experiences and supports an intelligent and dynamic environment unbounded by time or physical space. This track will explore how work transformation impacts strategic government functions today and in the future. Topics include:

Strategies to address talent, skills and training
How are agencies deploying AI enabled technologies to recruit, train and retain key personnel and enhance their future of work capabilities?
How to develop an AI ready workforce?
How are agencies using AI technologies (including VR) as an immersive environment to safely practice skills?

12:40 pm Opening Remarks

Adelaide O'Brien Adelaide O’Brien, Research Director, Government Digital Transformation Strategies, IDC

12:55 AI and the Future of Oversight Work

Renata Miskell, Chief Data & Analytics Officer, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (OIG)

1:20 AI and Machine Learning Transformation at NASA

Edward McLarney, AI & ML Transformation Lead, NASA Digital Transformation

Explore NASA’s AI/ML transformation strategy and initial implementation progress, focusing on learning and development approaches, outreach, and ethical AI guidance. AI/ML learning and development has included assessing the workforce’s needs, organizing available learning assets, and providing easy mechanisms to choose materials. Any transformation requires outreach, and NASA’s AI/ML team has created an internal web space, with plans for a public-facing AI/ML web space in the near-future. Finally, like many organizations, NASA must guide early adopters of AI in ethical use; Mr. McLarney will share NASA’s initial approaches to ethical AI.

1:45 Enhancing AI Readiness through Experiential AI Challenges

Elaine Johanson, Director, Health Informatics, Office of Data, Analytics and Research, Food & Drug Administration

Experiential learning can increase workforce AI readiness and bridge the gap between self-paced virtual training and utilizing AI. FDA’s precisionFDA, a secure, collaborative, cloud-based, high-performance computing platform for hosting, managing, and analyzing large datasets, hosts AI/ML challenges and app-a-thons that enable experiential learning and stimulate development of innovative analytics to inform regulatory science. This session will provide an understanding for how to utilize AI/ML challenges and hack-a-thons to increase AI engagement, awareness, and readiness among staff and external stakeholders. In addition, gain best practices for utilizing crowdsourcing effectively to upskill the workforce.

2:10 Refreshment Break

2:20 PANEL: Mindset Needs, Skillset Myths, and Achieving Magic in AI Engineering Teams

A diverse workforce is needed to ensure implementation of human-centered and resilient AI systems. This panel will explore skillsets and mindsets needed, why, and how to look for them both within your organization and among potential recruits. Discuss why bringing diverse groups together and expecting magic is insufficient, and what type of structures are needed to enable teams to achieve desired outcomes.

Moderator:

Rachel Dzombak, PhD, Digital Transformation Lead, Emerging Technology Center, Carnegie Mellon Software Engineering Institute

Panelists:

Dorothy Aronson, Chief Information Officer/Chief Data Officer, Office of the Director, National Science Foundation

Bryan Lane, Chief, Business Intelligence Services, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation

Vivek Rao, PhD, Innovation & Research in Design, Technology, and Business, UC Berkeley College of Engineering

3:10 Session Break

3:15 Closing Plenary Session

Moderator:

Alison Brooks, PhD, Research Vice President, Worldwide Public Safety, IDC

Panelists:

Curt Savoie, Program Director, Global Smart Cities Strategies, IDC

Adelaide O'Brien Adelaide O’Brien, Research Director, Government Digital Transformation Strategies, IDC

Matthew Butkovic, Technical Director, Cyber Risk and Resilience Directorate, CERT Division of the Software Engineering Institute, Carnegie Mellon University (CMU)

3:45 Close of AI World Government 2021