Ep. 26 How Federal IT can Leverage Artificial Intelligence

September 20, 2022

World famous Brian Papp from CISA has the best line when it comes to justifying the use of Artificial Intelligence in federal projects. “There is too much data and not enough people to understand it.” Bingo.

We are living in a world where the term “petabyte” is tossed about like a can of beans. Sensors are in the ocean, on moving vehicles, and in outer space. The federal government needs to collect data from fields as far ranging from financial derivatives to miles per gallon of a post office truck.

Unfortunately, universities and colleges do not offer degrees in artificial intelligence. As a result, much learning consists of anecdotes and case studies that may have applications in the federal world.

There is no doubt that artificial intelligence can provide benefits to the federal government. Studies have shown that, when deployed properly, artificial intelligence can streamline a user’s online experience, automate processes, and provide better use of data.

Paul Dillahay is the CEO of a company boldly called Empower AI. His company bet on artificial intelligence before it became a buzzword at places like Gartner and Forrester Research. During the interview, he reviews the benefits of artificial intelligence at agencies like the GSA and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

"I also read a study that said that 92% of agency leadership is looking to deploy AI in the next several years" "

Paul Dillahay, Empower AI Tweet

Paul suggests that one should start with quality data to get the best results. From this basic goal, he recommends that any initiative must align properly with agency goals; clean data that is tagged and sorted may not have any value if it is producing the result the agency is charged with. The infrastructure must be optimized, and you should start with small steps to prove the application.

The conversation began and ended with trust. The Executive Order from 2020 talks about “trustworthy” artificial intelligence.

If you enjoyed this podcast, you may want to listen to episode #22 Federal Endpoint Security.