Balancing AI’s Power with Privacy

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has incredible potential to speed decision-making and unearth connections between data to inform government services and programs. AI is being implemented across government and private industry with very little policy or regulation as to its development or use. In many ways, this lack of oversight is driving exciting innovation, but as this innovation leads to new uses, the risks of infringing on citizen rights and privacy increase.

Peter Parker (Spiderman) was warned, "with great power comes great responsibility." Similarly, AI developers need a voice providing gentle guidance as they figure out how best to use AI's power for good. In the fall of 2022, the White House released the AI Bill of Rights, designed to address concerns about how, without some oversight, AI could lead to discrimination against minority groups and further systemic inequality. Continue reading

IoT in Government: How Government is Using Digital Twins

Digital twins are virtual, 3D representations of buildings, neighborhoods, or products built with real-world data collected from internet-of-things (IoT) devices like sensors, video cameras, and other enterprise data applications. These twins allow researchers, planners, and policymakers to experiment with changes to the object or environment to see if the desired results of that change are achieved. Applications include infrastructure improvement, sustainability planning, emergency response preparedness, and research and development. IoT in government is being driven by the results digital twins can achieve. One report showed that cities can expect to save $280 billion by 2030 with the deployment and use of digital twins. Continue reading

Facing the Future of Biometrics

With many of us using our faces to "open" our phones, biometric technology has become an everyday consumer technology. Capitalizing on the comfort and ease of use of facial recognition, government agencies are looking to incorporate it (and other biometric methods) into their modern cybersecurity plans and approaches but are realizing implementation in a government setting raises a host of complications.

Interest in facial recognition is strong

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report in August of 2021 that detailed current and planned use of facial recognition technology by federal agencies. In a survey of 24 departments and agencies it found that 18 reported using the technology and 10 reported plans to expand their use of it. Continue reading

Looking Past the Cloud and Into Space

While the focus of government modernization has been transitioning government into the Cloud, NASA and Space Force have their sights set even further. Both organizations are focused on bringing "new knowledge and opportunities back to Earth."

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Show Me the Data!

Data is critical to that mission. Using data, NASA leaders have set a goal to accelerate the time it takes to release innovations to the market by 25%. This data use challenge is common across government, and becomes even more complex when you have to get data from where it is to where it's needed and that movement involves data coming from space.

Being a new agency, Space Force is able to implement many digital born systems, but working with legacy data and systems is a constant challenge that requires innovative thinking. Critical to this is understanding a technology's application to a specific mission and effectively communicating its impact to leaders to help reduce barriers to changing "how it's always been done."

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Next Generation Connectivity Catching Up to This Generation’s Needs

Pandemic-necessitated remote work and increased reliance on online apps and sites for routine everyday tasks like shopping and transportation showed us that Internet connection is a critical utility. It also proved that getting connected is not enough -- the speed and quality of that connection have a huge impact on how we carry out day-to-day activities. In a timely coincidence, this reliance on connectivity comes at a time when networks are improving their service to supply that exact speed and reliability.

Introducing a Whole New Level of Speed: 5G

5G promises to be faster with less latency when connecting to the network. The speeds afforded by 5G mean that visions for smart, connected cities can be logistically achieved as 5G networks will be better able to handle more users, lots of sensors, and heavy traffic. The Department of Veterans Affairs is already tapping into 5G to allow doctors to use augmented reality to look at and manipulate large imaging files, like MRIs or CT scans.

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