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The GovCIO Media & Research podcast network comprises GovCast, CyberCast and HealthCast featuring conversations with key leaders on timely issues impacting the federal IT landscape. Topics include cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, cloud computing, IT modernization, data analytics, workforce development and more. New episodes release each Tuesday.
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Federal agencies are making significant strides in revolutionizing data access and records management by adopting new technologies, improving processes and fostering greater transparency. The Library of Congress and National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) are revolutionizing access to their vast amounts of historical records and born-digital content. The organizations are taking innovative approaches to digitization, metadata management and leveraging cutting-edge technologies like AI and machine learning to enhance discoverability and accessibility. Natalie Buda Smith, director of digital strategy at the Library of Congress, and Jill Reilly, digital engagement director at NARA, dive into the challenges of preserving and providing access to digital-native materials, from obsolete formats to emulation strategies.
Customs and Border Protection CTO Sunil Madhugiri discussed how the agency is using artificial intelligence at the nation's borders to sift through mountains of data more quickly. Artificial intelligence and large language models are not new to CBP. The agency has been developing the technology for its use in its missions including detecting suspicious items and packages at border entries and ports. Madhugiri discussed CBP's infrastructure it created for this tech and how it plans to adopt it without further burdening employees and officers working at ports and borders nationwide.
CBP Acting Executive Assistant Commissioner Diane Sabatino discussed her vision for emerging technologies the agency is adopting at the nation's ports, entries and borders to streamline how it monitors movement of people and goods into the country. She broke down how the agency is leveraging data it collects at the border and using artificial intelligence and biometrics to alleviate administrative burdens, sift through and siphon data, and better equip CBP officers with tools to identify and respond to threats.
The growing need for timely, accurate and detailed data about the American people and economy poses new demands on the U.S. Census Bureau. To adapt to modern data requirements and sourcing, the bureau is transforming the way it leverages emerging technologies. While the agency continues traditional surveys, it is increasingly leveraging administrative data, business data and other innovations to create a better statistical snapshot of American life. Census Deputy Director and Chief Operating Officer Ron Jarmin outlines how the bureau is expanding its data collection, using AI to make Census staff more efficient and spearheading modernization efforts to better meet 21st century data needs.
NASA has been undergoing an enterprise-wide digital transformation plan that leaders hope will change how the agency collaborates and innovates. One of these leaders co-founded NASA's digital service and is currently working on the testing platform for the agency's Artemis mission. Shawn Chittle discusses his extensive background at private sector software companies and how he uses this experience to drive key user-centric design principles that ultimately powers the technology behind NASA's space exploration mission. He discusses what it was like co-founding a digital service for such a large agency, his vision for the Artemis program and how he sees IT and data management evolving around legacy modernization.
The Department of Veterans Affairs' Innovation Unit brings novel solutions in health care to help save veterans and the VA time and money through low- to no-cost pilots. This includes pilots like Care Centra, an AI personalized health coach, that uses machine learning to track behaviors and nudge veterans to follow better health outcomes and reduce the number of in-person visits. The unit's Deputy Director Sarah MacDawutey discusses these pilots, how the unit works across the enterprise to test solutions in emerging technology like AI before they are deployed at scale and how she sees them benefitting veterans.
General Service Administration Executive Director of Cloud Strategy Eric Mill briefed updates for the newly focused FedRAMP program and associated advisories for cloud service providers. FedRAMP's Agile Delivery Pilot will help prepare the program for continuous assessments, a key part of FedRAMP 2.0's evolution. He also previews FedRAMP's Emerging Technology Prioritization Framework that will soon enable agencies to use generative AI. Mill discusses the agency's new automation hub, automation.gsa.gov, supporting cloud service providers creating and managing digital authorization packages. He also shares his priorities around real-time data sharing, APIs and secure software development.
The Department of Veterans Affairs has many public-facing apps that rely on application programming interfaces (APIs) for third-party developers creating software and services to veterans. Managing this ecosystem is VA's Lighthouse, where Deputy Director Andrew Fichter is constantly looking at innovating how to share and manage the data that fuels these apps. Fichter discusses how Lighthouse is serving veterans and why it is necessary for modernization of veterans services. Plus, he shares the future of these tools and how the program will evolve around emerging technology.
Emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, telehealth and telemedicine have dramatically improved and widened the ability for the Department of Veterans Affairs to deliver health care to veterans. These technologies are revolutionary, but they also come with a higher risk of being compromised. VA Executive Director of Information Security Policy and Strategy Amber Pearson discusses the growing attack surface and how the agency is taking bolder steps to ensure patient data remains secure from threat actors.
The Forest Service's mission as lead federal agency in natural resource conservation includes oversight of 193 million acres of public lands and 600 million acres of forests across the U.S. A big mission for the service is wildfire management, which requires modern technology to monitor millions of acres and share information between the departments of Agriculture and Interior and also the public. The 100-year-old agency is transforming its technology and data operations to make more data available by closing tech gaps, removing legacy systems and improving interoperability for even the most remote and rural environments. Assistant CDO for the Natural Resources and Environment Mission Ramona Carey discusses the data landscape, where emerging technology fits in to her priorities and how data modernization is underpinning critical conversation efforts.
The U.S. Postal Service is in the middle of a three-year modernization plan to update its massive infrastructure, data centers and expansive telecom network. The service wants to prioritize technology innovation and leverage partnerships to transform its operations and business model for evolving mail and deliver services, relying on no taxpayer dollars to do so. CIO Pritha Mehra is focused on maintaining a highly resilient telecom network, securing data transfer and embracing new technology. Mehra shares how the agency is using emerging technology like generative AI in its operations, the service's plan for integrating zero trust architecture amid new policy directives, and also how the service is evolving upskilling and recruiting initiatives to attract and retain its workforce.
The Department of Veterans Affairs' new digital tool monitors hundreds of agency applications for glitches and other technical issues and sends alerts to remediate any detected problem in a matter of hours. This program, called Watchtower, shrinks the time that critical services are out of commission and ultimately prevents major disruptions to services for veterans. In some cases, Watchtower was able to preemptively identify issues before they became apparent. Overseeing the program is Bill Chapman, director of engineering in VA's Office of the CTO. He discusses more of these details about the program and how the agency is assessing its performance.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)'s current iteration of its strategic priorities features a new goal for environmental justice alongside civil rights and climate change. EPA Chief Financial Officer Faisal Amin shares new details about how the agency is developing new technology standards that will decrease greenhouse gas emissions and improve overall air quality. Amin also discusses where EPA sees potential for AI and other emerging technologies.
Following the passage of the PACT Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs is hiring more staff, serving more veterans and offering expanded access to benefits. After a record-breaking 2023, the agency says, it anticipates an even bigger 2024. VA CIO Kurt DelBene discusses the tech priorities for the agency headed into 2024, from EHR modernization to artificial intelligence, user experience to hiring and more.
The Pentagon is undergoing a robust plan to create a foundation for its AI-enabled capabilities that include data infrastructure and management, platforms, processes and, of course, people. Leading this charge is the Chief Digital and AI Office (CDAO), which is working toward a number of deliverables this year around many of these aspects. CDAO Digital Talent Management Office Chief Angela Cough discusses the ways in which she works across departments and the broader Defense Industrial Base to create the AI workforce of the future. She highlights some of the tools and skills employees will need now to be successful in the age of AI.
Last month the National Science Foundation (NSF) launched the National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource (NAIRR) pilot to encourage AI cooperation and innovation as part of the White House's executive order to advance AI. The pilot comprises a partnership with 10 federal agencies and 19 industry organizations. Tess deBlanc-Knowles, NSF's special assistant to the director for AI, joins GovCast to discuss how partnerships strengthen the NAIRR pilot, how it is democratizing access to AI research and how shepherding AI leadership can open more doors for the federal government, industry and academic community more broadly.
The White House's Better Contracting Initiative aims to ensure the federal government is getting the best prices on services through acquisition. The government spent more than $77 billion dollars on federal IT contracting last year, so saving money for government and ultimately taxpayers is among one of the initiative's top priorities. Laura Stanton, assistant commissioner for the Office of Information Technology Category at the General Service Administration's Federal Acquisition Service, discusses the next phase of the initiative and how it will impact the IT contracting landscape in the long run.
President Joe Biden's executive order on artificial intelligence requires agencies to name chief artificial intelligence officers (CAIO). Some agencies with longstanding AI experience have named CAIOs, while others are still in the process of naming their officials. Managing Editor Ross Gianfortune and Staff Writer/Researcher Jordan McDonald analyze the state of CAIOs and the future of AI officials.
The U.S. Digital Corps started out as an idea to help strengthen the federal tech workforce and was borne in August 2021 out of a collaboration between the White House, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and General Services Administration's Technology Transformation Services to transform hiring tech talent. Since then, it has placed more than 80 early-career tech and cybersecurity professionals at dozens of agencies through a two-year fellowship program. U.S. Digital Corps Founder and Director Caitlin Gandhi speaks about its history and successes, how IT hiring is changing in government and the impact fellows are having at agencies writ large.
The Department of Homeland Security is developing a new workforce plan to bring in technical talent through initiatives like a new IT Academy. Executive Director of IT Operations Chris Granger discusses how these efforts and more are part of a broader plan at DHS to improve its services make them more equitable and accessible. Granger dives into the agency's strategic plan for the next four years and how technologies like artificial intelligence will support initiatives to improve the supply chain and even support missions to locate and rescue victims of online child sexual exploitation.
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