The Department of Commerce's mission is to create the conditions for economic growth and opportunity for all communities. With 13 bureaus, it serves as the voice of business in the Federal Government and spurs the growth of quality jobs in communities across the country.
Commerce plays a huge role in innovation and advanced computing. Commerce is the department that oversees the efforts of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to provide guidelines around secure and equitable technology use. Additionally, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) leading climate science research and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's (USPTO) work to protect American IP are also housed under Commerce.
The department is led by five strategic goals:
- Drive U.S. innovation and global competitiveness
- Foster inclusive capitalism and equitable economic growth
- Address the climate crisis through mitigation, adaptation, and resilience efforts
- Expand opportunity and discovery through data
- Provide 21st century service with 21st century capabilities
Meeting these goals puts Commerce at the heart of providing solutions to many of the critical tech challenges facing government today, including ethical use of artificial intelligence (AI), supply chain security, and equitable economic development.
Equitable Economic Development
In the fall of 2023, Commerce announced the designation of 31 Tech Hubs in regions across the country. These hubs are designed to drive regional innovation and job creation by strengthening a region's capacity to manufacture, commercialize, and deploy technology. The Federal Government invests in these regions to build the infrastructure needed to support the development of business and research in areas as diverse as quantum computing, biotechnology, precision medicine, clean energy advancement, semiconductor manufacturing, and more.
This program aims to move tech knowledge and job opportunities from several urban areas to regions nationwide, expanding access to jobs and diversifying the pool of talent working on advanced technology solutions. This round of Tech Hubs includes programs in Puerto Rico, Montana, New Hampshire, Alabama, and Wisconsin, among others.
AI Guidance
Building on its history of providing technological and consumer standards, NIST is the lead agency for developing guidance around AI use and development. The agency has established the U.S. Artificial Intelligence Safety Institute (USAISI) to evaluate the safety of advanced AI models and develop associated standards for recognizing and authenticating AI-generated content. NIST's AI Risk Management Framework currently represents the "gold standard" for the regulatory guidance of artificial intelligence technology usage across government.
The agency is currently working on benchmark creation initiatives for AI auditing and developing a companion resource to the Secure Software Development Framework to safely incorporate generative systems and dual-use foundation models. NIST is also working on ways to detect, authenticate, and watermark AI-generated content.
Building a Secure Supply Chain
The CHIPS and Science Act, passed into law in 2022, aims to strengthen domestic semiconductor manufacturing, design, and research; fortify the economy and national security; and reinforce America's chip supply chains. Following through on this law, the Commerce Department has undertaken several programs to support the domestic manufacture of computing components, including:
- Updating the Semiconductor Alert Mechanism to improve how information submitted to the system by microelectronics organizations on supply-chain disruptions within their operations can be used to coordinate government resources to reduce backlogs and delays.
- Investments in academia to keep U.S. universities at the head of innovation and research around AI, quantum computing, biotechnologies, and other emerging fields.
- Creation of the National Semiconductor Technology Center to advance semiconductor research and development in the U.S.
Of course, this is only a snapshot of the work being done across Commerce. For more on the department's strategy and initiatives, check out these resources from GovEvents and GovWhitePapers.
- Enterprise Generative AI Summit (January 23-24, 2024; Miami, FL) - This conference is designed for enterprise AI pioneers who are actively integrating generative AI models into their organizations.
- Using Generative AI & Machine Learning in the Enterprise (February 21, 2024; Austin, TX, and virtual) - Learn about innovative solutions in generative AI, machine learning, predictive analytics, and acceptance around best practices.
- 5th Annual Artificial Intelligence Summit (March 21, 2024; Tysons Corner, VA) - Federal leaders and industry experts converge to explore the transformative power of artificial intelligence.
- Gartner Supply Chain Symposium/Xpo 2024 (May 6-8, 2024; Lake Buena Vista, FL) - This event provides pragmatic advice and future-focused insight for supply chains to deliver now and in the future.
- Why Policymakers Should Support Robotic Automation to Solve the Productivity Crunch in Logistics Facilities (white paper) - As consumers continue to buy more goods online, logistics facilities will face greater demand for goods across the country in a timely manner. Policymakers should promote robotic adoption and innovation to improve labor productivity, worker safety, delivery times, and supply-chain resiliency.
- Shared Intelligence for Resilient Supply Systems (white paper) - The current state of global supply chains calls for enhanced data sharing, building the visibility necessary to mitigate future disruptions more efficiently. This insight report explores the ways in which required resilience can be achieved.
- Artificial Intelligence Index Report 2023 (white paper) - This year's report measures and evaluates the rapid rate of AI advancement from research and development to technical performance and ethics, the economy and education, AI policy and governance, diversity, public opinion, and more.
For more on Commerce's activities, strategies, and goals you can find additional resources on GovEvents and GovWhitePapers.
