WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 28 | 12:30 – 3:00 pm

Led by:

Seminar 1: AI & Cybersecurity

Co-Chairs: Bob Gourley, Co-Founder and CTO, OODA LLC
David A. Bray, PhD, Inaugural Director, Atlantic Council GeoTech Center; Executive Director, Commission for the Geopolitical Impacts of New Technologies and Data

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. If this were the end of the story, our task would be simple. We would only need to accelerate AI into every facet of every government.  But we live in a world where not all humans are angels and not all nations respect the sovereignty of others. And with globally interconnected IT allowing criminals, fraudsters and hostile nations to continuously innovate, we must be mindful of the challenges of cybersecurity and counter-misinformation.  

Experience also shows that AI itself has unique security challenges because of the nature of the algorithms involved. Enterprises are finding that their AI solutions need special protections. AI needs to be developed in the most secure manner possible. Adversaries who can access training data can manipulate it to drive outcomes of ML. Algorithms themselves must also be protected. Many AI solutions have been shown to be biased and/or bigoted. And in some cases, the solutions will generate results that are unexplainable, making security and compliance even more complicated.   

This half day seminar, led by two widely recognized AI experts, will bring together a range of experienced practitioners to share lessons learned and best practices in mitigating these serious challenges so we can accelerate the fielding of AI in service to governments.

12:30 pm Opening Remarks 

Bob Gourley, Co-Founder and CTO, OODA LLC
David A. Bray, PhD, Inaugural Director, Atlantic Council GeoTech Center; Executive Director, Commission for the Geopolitical Impacts of New Technologies and Data

This opening will highlight the ever-evolving field where AI plays a role both in cybersecurity defense as well as the propagation of cyberthreats and misinformation. Increasingly digital technologies can do at massive scale things that were not computationally possible five or ten years ago – which pose both opportunities and risks for organizations when it comes to protecting important operations.

12:40 When AI Goes Wrong

Bob Gourley, Co-Founder and CTO, OODA LLC

In our era of increasing techno-dependence, we need to recognize that AI is not always right. Bad data, bad heuristics, or other confluence of events can lead to bad outcomes. Recognizing when AI can go wrong will be imperative for organizations that seek to thrive in the era ahead.

1:05 New Challenges in Countering Misinformation and Disinformation

Pablo Breuer, PhD, Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), Helm Services

The last four years have shown how a combination of automation and basic machine learning can produce “bots” that can spread misinformation and disinformation online. Much like cybersecurity, countering-misinformation is a challenge as misinformation favors attackers and spreaders. Reasoned facts will not sway individuals with existing confirmation biases. This session will highlight what new challenges have arise in the last 12 months in this ever-evolving field that challenges us all.

1:30 Panel: How to Fool an AI by Feeding it Misleading Data

Continuing the discussion of the risks of techno-dependence, this panel will highlight how AI’s can be fooled or mislead by data. As the old computer science mantra says “garbage in, garbage out” which is especially true when it comes to training machines.

Moderator: David A. Bray, PhD, Inaugural Director, Atlantic Council GeoTech Center; Executive Director, Commission for the Geopolitical Impacts of New Technologies and Data
Panelists:

• Anthony Scriffignano, PhD, Senior Vice President & Chief Data Scientist, Dun & Bradstreet 
• Amina Al Sherif, Chief Innovation Officer and Head of Special Projects, Anno.ai
• Steve Heibein, US Federal AI Lead, Hewlett Packard Enterprise  
  

2:05 Refresh Break - View Our Virtual Exhibit Hall

2:20 Panel: How to Know if Either an External or Internal AI is Leading you Astray - and What to do About it

As organizations begin to use AI for either external or internal operations, they run the risk of the AI leading them in wrong directions. While use of automation and AI for security or other business functions has the potential for positive upsides, there’s also the risk of an organization being led astray in ways it doesn’t realize until it is too late. This session will discuss how to avoid the “too late” moment.

Moderator: Bob Gourley, Co-Founder and CTO, OODA LLC
Panelists:

• Antigone Peyton, Director, Legal and Policy, Ridgeline International, Inc.; Founder, Cloudigy Law
• Brian Drake, Future Capabilities and Innovation Office, Defense Intelligence Agency
• Stephen Dennis, Director, Advanced Computing Technology Centers, DHS S&T 
  

2:50 Seminar Wrap up: Call to Action

Bob Gourley, Co-Founder and CTO, OODA LLC
David A. Bray, PhD, Inaugural Director, Atlantic Council GeoTech Center; Executive Director, Commission for the Geopolitical Impacts of New Technologies and Data

Having discussed the challenges of increasing techno-dependence as well as how digital technologies can do at massive scale things that were not computationally possible five or ten years ago, we will close with a call to action for the coming year ahead that we each can help advance for a better future ahead.

3:00 AI World Government Connects - View Our Virtual Exhibit Hall 

3:00 Attend Meetup Groups

3:30 Close of Day 1