The legislation, among other things, would establish pilot programs to try out “more flexible, competitive purchasing practices” and require that government contracts for AI “to include safety and security terms for data ownership, civil rights, civil liberties and privacy, adverse incident reporting and other key areas,” according to a release.

“Artificial intelligence has the power to reshape how the federal government provides services to the American people for the better, but if left unchecked, it can pose serious risks,” Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., who sponsors the bill with Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said in a statement. “These guardrails will help guide federal agencies’ responsible adoption and use of AI tools, and ensure that systems paid for by taxpayers are being used safely and securely.”

According to the release, the Promoting Responsible Evaluation and Procurement to Advance Readiness for Enterprise-wide Deployment (PREPARED) for AI Act builds on a law passed in 2022 that required agencies to protect privacy and civil rights when purchasing AI. That legislation was also sponsored by Peters. President Joe Biden cited that law in a section of his executive order on AI that directed the Office of Management and Budget to take action on addressing federal AI acquisition. 

The OMB in March asked for input on AI procurement, including how the administration can promote competition and protect the government’s rights to access its data in those contracts. The administration has said it plans to take action on AI procurement later this year.

“As the role of artificial intelligence in the public and private sectors continues to grow, it is crucial federal agencies have a robust framework for procuring and implementing AI safely and effectively,” Tillis said in the release. 

A Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee aide told FedScoop that Peters, who chairs the panel, plans a markup for the bill this summer. Once it’s passed by the panel, the aide said Peters “will keep all options on the table and pursue any path forward, whether that’s advancing the bill as a standalone or as part of a larger vehicle.” 

The bill has the support of Center for Democracy and Technology, Transparency Coalition, the AI Procurement Lab, and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), according to the release.

The post Bipartisan Senate bill would establish federal AI acquisition guardrails appeared first on FedScoop.

“Micky has been a leading expert in our AI work and will provide tremendous expertise and relationships across HHS and externally to guide our efforts in the coming months,” the spokesperson said. “Micky already serves as co-chair of the HHS AI Task Force. He will continue in his role as National Coordinator for Health IT during the search for a permanent Chief AI Officer.”  

Greg Singleton, the previous CAIO, is still part of the agency’s IT workforce, the spokesperson confirmed. But they also noted that the Office of Management and Budget required agencies to designate CAIOs at the executive level in an effort to improve accountability for AI issues. 

HHS didn’t say when the department had named Tripathi as acting CAIO, but the change appears to have been made recently on the agency’s website. Singleton was still listed as CAIO as of at least May 14, per a copy of HHS’s Office of the CAIO webpage archived in the Wayback Machine. According to the webpage at the time of this story, the content was last reviewed on May 24.

Under President Joe Biden’s AI executive order, CAIOs serve as the official in charge of promoting the use of the technology within an agency and managing its risks. The requirement to have such an official went into effect 60 days after OMB’s memo on AI governance, which would have been May 27.

Many agencies moved quickly to designate CAIOs after the order, tapping officials such as chief information, data and technology officers to carry out the role. Other agencies already had a CAIO, including HHS and the Department of Homeland Security. In fact, the position at HHS has been around since 2021 when the agency named Oki Mek as its first CAIO. Singleton replaced Mek as the department’s top AI official in March 2022.

The post HHS names acting chief AI officer as it searches for permanent official appeared first on FedScoop.

Before the policy, agencies and their contracting officials were limited to only data from their respective agencies, hampering data-driven decisions, according to a White House fact sheet. But the finalized circular (A-137) establishes that acquisition data is an asset to be used across the government and instructs agencies to be prepared to collect and share that information. 

The policy “marks a paradigm shift in the government’s acquisition data management practices,” the fact sheet said.  

Jason Miller, the deputy director for management in the Office of Management and Budget that houses OFPP, told reporters at a Tuesday roundtable the circular makes acquisition information a “government asset” rather than an agency asset.

“It’s just a huge step in us unlocking the business intelligence that allows those 40,000 contracting officials to operate smarter, better — both on delivering on mission and addressing costs and requirements in ways that result in better outcomes,” Miller said.

Christine Harada, senior adviser who leads the OFPP team in the absence of a Senate-confirmed director, told reporters the guidance changed slightly since a draft version was released for public comment last year. The final version incorporates other work the office has done on data and data-related strategies.

Harada also noted that the administration has created a tool called the Procurement Co-Pilot that “demonstrates the value and the power of having such an enterprise-wide access, and we’ve been rolling that out with our acquisition workforce.”

Better contracting

The data circular is one of the four elements of the Biden administration’s Better Contracting Initiative to improve efficiency and save money on federal spending. The others focus on enterprise-wide software license negotiation, improving contract requirements, and getting more value from sole source and high-risk contracts.

Those other elements of that initiative are also moving forward. On improving negotiation for enterprise-wide software, Miller said the administration has already taken the first step by bringing together agencies that are big buyers of those products to navigate where they have common requirements. He said he’s hopeful that the administration will have more to share on that progress “very soon.” 

Under that prong of the Better Contracting Initiative, the General Services Administration will “lead a government-wide IT software license agreement with a large software provider.”

Harada said in the workshop process, all 24 Chief Financial Officers Act agencies agreed on over 80% of the requirements, and the remaining ones can be tailored agency-by-agency. “There’s been a lot of really good buy-in from the agencies on this,” Harada said.

The Tuesday announcement came as OFPP marked half a century as an office. Harada and Miller remarked on the accomplishments of the office since then.

“When we were first established, the acquisition workforce had no training — no training whatsoever,” Harada said, noting they’ve since made progress on “investing in the acquisition workforce.” 

She also highlighted the establishment of things like the Chief Acquisition Officers Council and the Interagency Suspension and Debarment Committee, adding that the theme of the past 50 years has been the government getting “more organized and buying as one.”

The post White House procurement office releases data circular as it celebrates 50th anniversary appeared first on FedScoop.

DeRusha, who was appointed to the federal CISO position in January 2021, played a critical role in the development of the White House’s artificial intelligence executive order, in addition to the Biden administration’s 2021 executive order on cybersecurity and the corresponding national cybersecurity strategy and implementation plan. 

“Since day one of the Biden Administration, Chris has been instrumental in strengthening our nation’s cybersecurity, protecting America’s critical infrastructure, and improving the digital defenses of the Federal government,” Clare Martorana, federal chief information officer, said in a statement. “I wish him the best, and know he will continue to serve as a leading voice within the cybersecurity community.”  

As the federal CISO, DeRusha oversaw the 25-member council of his chief information security officer peers and spearheaded the protection of federal networks, while also managing agencywide implementation of multifactor authentication and supporting the coordination of the nation’s broader cybersecurity as the deputy national cyber director. 

DeRusha will also leave behind that role, the Office of the National Cyber Director confirmed.

“From the beginning of the Biden-Harris Administration, and even before, Chris DeRusha has been a steady, guiding leader,” National Cyber Director Harry Coker Jr. said in a statement. “As Deputy National Cyber Director with ONCD — while continuing his excellent work as Federal CISO — he has been a trusted and valued partner. 

“Chris’s keen insights, experience, and judgement have been integral to the work we’ve done and what we will continue to do to strengthen our Nation’s cyber infrastructure. I’m grateful for his commitment to the American people and to the Biden-Harris Administration. All of us at ONCD wish him the very best in his next chapter,” Coker added.

Speaking during Scoop News Group’s CyberTalks event last November, DeRusha touted the White House’s coalition-building efforts and “meaningful cooperation” as a means to reaching its overarching cybersecurity goals.  

“We cannot achieve any meaningful progress on managing cyber risk as one nation,” DeRusha said. “And this administration is definitely committed to working with our like-minded partners on shared goals.”

A month earlier, during the Google Public Sector Forum, DeRusha said that after “decades of investments in addressing legacy modernization challenges,” the Biden administration was poised to address “massive” long-term challenges on everything from AI strategy to combating ransomware. 

“We’ve taken on pretty much every big challenge that we’ve been talking about for a couple of decades,” DeRusha said. “And we’re taking a swing and making” progress.

Prior to his current stint with the federal government, DeRusha served as CISO for the Biden presidential campaign and stayed on with the transition team’s technology strategy and delivery unit. DeRusha had previously worked as the CISO for the state of Michigan.

OMB did not reveal DeRusha’s last day or where he is headed next. 

Federal News Network first reported the news of DeRusha’s departure.

The post DeRusha stepping down from federal CISO role appeared first on FedScoop.

While federal agencies have lagged commercial industry in recognizing AI’s potential impacts and adapting accordingly, the U.S. government is now rushing to catch up. On March 28, the White House Office of Management and Budget released its new AI governance memo as a follow-up to the October 2023 White House Executive Order on the Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Use of Artificial Intelligence, and federal agencies have completed all required actions to date under the Executive Order on schedule.

As required by the executive order, all federal agencies must now designate a Chief AI Officer (CAIO) to coordinate their agency’s use of AI, promote AI innovation in their agency, and manage risks from their agency’s use of AI. As a consequence, the government is looking for 400 CAIOs and many federal departments and agencies have already named one.

The creation of CAIO positions is a significant step toward an AI-enabled federal government. However, it presents challenges akin to those faced in the private sector. To navigate these challenges successfully, CAIOs should take five immediate actions to set the stage for success:

Lead the Mission: CAIOs must articulate a clear vision for AI adoption within their agencies, ensuring alignment and serving as the focal point for implementing AI priorities. The Chief AI Officer should report directly to the department or agency head to demonstrate that they have their full-throated support.

Balance Innovation and Risk: Many government functions are considered no-fail missions—protecting the nation, providing uninterrupted financial and medical benefits, securing domestic and international travel, building weapon systems, and serving as the nation’s eyes and ears through intelligence collection and analysis. Even seemingly small error rates may be intolerable. Yet with AI, risk aversion offers a path to stagnation and obsolescence. CAIOs should fight to strike a balance between each agency’s legitimate concerns about risks, and the imperative to accelerate AI adoption and integration.

Quick Wins and Strategy: CAIOs should identify low-hanging fruit that, with focused senior-level attention and a burst of resources, can deliver demonstrable outcomes that are clearly AI-driven. This creates a virtuous cycle of success that opens the aperture for the more difficult and ambitious work to come. AI pilots can be chosen thoughtfully to demonstrate hypotheses that can then be affirmed in each department’s AI strategy. These quick wins can build momentum for broader AI strategy implementation.

Budgeting and Procurement: The budgets that CAIOs are working with now were likely built in early 2022 before large language models or generative AI were widely available. CAIOs should work with agency chief financial officers and department comptrollers to identify current-year funds for reprogramming. At the same time, they need to shape future year budgets in ways that reflect the required infusion of resources in support of the entire AI lifecycle.

Yet even when funds are identified, procurement processes often move slower than the pace of technology — a product on the cutting edge today may be on the path to obsolescence tomorrow. CAIOs should work with acquisition and contracting officials to take full advantage of extant authorities while seeking new and more flexible authorities to accelerate AI procurement.

Talent Acquisition: The scarcity of AI talent necessitates creative approaches to recruitment and retention within the public sector. CAIOs should push to hire AI experts directly, but to move faster they should also hire outside AI experts for temporary assignments through pathways such as fellowships from corporations, think tanks, and academia, or in excepted service or special government employee roles. CAIOs can pursue a strategy of establishing a centralized AI talent hub that the rest of the department or agency can access, or of placing talent in key directorates and offices that are leveraging AI. A blend of different human capital solutions will help accelerate AI adoption across the government.

These strategies are not only aimed at integrating AI into federal operations but also at leveraging its potential to enhance public service delivery. The CAIO’s role is pivotal in this process, requiring a blend of visionary leadership, strategic planning, and operational acumen.

The experiences of the Defense Department’s Joint AI Center and Chief Digital and AI Office and the Department of Homeland Security’s AI Task Force exemplify the multifaceted opportunities and challenges AI presents. These initiatives highlighted the necessity for a centralized strategy to provide direction, coupled with the flexibility to foster innovation and experimentation within a decentralized framework. Absent the proper balance between centralization and decentralization, one of two things will happen: AI will never scale beyond pilot projects — overly decentralized — or the end users’ needs will be marginalized to the point of failure — overly centralized. The balancing act between rapid technological adoption and the careful management of associated risks underscores the complex landscape that CAIOs navigate.

The decision to institutionalize the role of CAIOs demonstrates a clear acknowledgment of AI’s strategic significance. This action signifies a deeper commitment to keeping the United States at the forefront of technological innovation, emphasizing the use of AI to improve public service delivery, enhance operational efficiency, and safeguard national interests. As we navigate this still-uncharted territory, leadership, innovation, and responsible governance will be essential in realizing the full promise of AI within the federal realm. CAIOs will play an indispensable role in shaping the government’s AI-enhanced future.

Joel Meyer served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security for Strategic Initiatives in the Biden Administration, where he drove the creation of DHS’s Artificial Intelligence Task Force and the Third Quadrennial Homeland Security Review. He has led public sector businesses at three artificial intelligence technology startups, including currently serving as President of Public Sector at Domino Data Lab, provider of the leading enterprise AI platform trusted by over 20% of the Fortune 100 and major government agencies.

Lieutenant General John (Jack) N.T. Shanahan, United States Air Force, Retired, retired in 2020 after a 36-year military career. Jack served in a variety of operational and staff positions in various fields including flying, intelligence, policy, and command and control. As the first Director of the Algorithmic Warfare Cross-Functional Team (Project Maven), Jack established and led DoD’s pathfinder AI fielding program charged with bringing AI capabilities to intelligence collection and analysis. In his final assignment, he served as the inaugural Director of the U.S. Department of Defense Joint Artificial Intelligence Center.

Both authors serve as Commissioners on the Atlantic Council’s Commission on Software-Defined Warfare.

The post The CAIO’s role in driving AI success across the federal government appeared first on FedScoop.

The HR Marketplace, which is hosted on the General Services Administration’s Acquisition Gateway, was announced publicly last week, and currently has a catalog of HR solutions from federal shared service providers like the Department of Agriculture’s National Finance Center and OPM itself.

But the agency is working on a strategy to also onboard commercial services and looking to ensure that information it provides is fresh so people will want to regularly return, Steve Krauss, a senior advisor for OPM’s HR Quality Services Management Office, or QSMO, told FedScoop.

Before the creation of the website, OPM sought input from those in the federal government and industry to get an idea of what people wanted in such a tool, Krauss said. While people wanted a place to do market research and understand the solutions available, they also wanted more.

“They really want something more like a community center where they can go and learn more about the standards and the things they’re supposed to be implementing,” Krauss said. 

That includes learning about industry-recognized best practices, getting market intelligence, and other resources, in addition to the solutions catalog that serves as the foundation of the marketplace, he added. And that’s what OPM is working toward. 

“What you will find is the beginnings of a site that is going to progress over time to become that,” Krauss said.

The rollout of the website aligns with OPM’s pre-designation as the QSMO for civilian human resources services across the federal government. Established in 2019 by the Office of Management and Budget, QSMOs are intended to serve as “governmentwide storefronts” for technology solutions and services in various areas, according to GSA. Since then, several agencies designated as QSMOs have launched similar marketplaces for cybersecurity, financial management, and grants. 

While OPM is still technically pre-designated as the HR QSMO — which means that it hasn’t yet received its official designation from the Office of Management and Budget — OMB has advised the agency “to proceed to full operating capability as a QSMO while it completes its designation process,” according to an OPM spokesperson. They also noted that there isn’t a “practical distinction” between pre-designation and designation in the QSMO’s ability to operate.

OPM was given a pre-designation as the HR QSMO in March 2022 and received a positive vote from OMB’s Shared Services Governance Board, after it presented its implementation plan, the spokesperson said. 

Although the website was announced publicly last week, it quietly went live about a month before with a small number of users, Krauss said. So far, the feedback from that group has been positive — and nothing is broken, he added. 

As OPM continues to build upon the site, it’s also in the process of standing up a steering committee for the marketplace. While still in the early stages of building that group, Krauss said it will comprise customer stakeholders, such as federal shared service providers and OPM, and eventually the agency is interested in adding commercial participants as well.

Krauss said OPM has in the past fielded a lot of questions from agencies about what solutions are available for things like payroll and support for hiring, and the marketplace gives people a place to go explore and research the options on their own “for the first time.” 

It also brings more attention to OPM’s broader HR efforts. 

“This just creates a focal point to generate sort of more awareness and affinity for the HR QSMO, the HR line of business, and the things that OPM is trying to do in terms of leading the community forward,” Krauss said. 

For example, he said, OPM is interested in collaboration and figuring out how agencies can learn from each other. Over the next five to 10 years, federal agencies are looking at the same few cloud-based software as a service (SaaS) platforms that can meet federal government needs, and something OPM is working with agencies on is whether the community can agree on a common set of requirements and efficient procurement for those platforms.

“Having this marketplace, having the site up as a focal point for that, is going to be really useful to us in terms of just sort of advancing that conversation,” Krauss said.

The post OPM’s new HR Marketplace aims to be ‘community center’ for federal services appeared first on FedScoop.

In a statement provided to FedScoop ahead of the Monday announcement, OPM disclosed it would issue guidance on use of generative AI tools for the federal workforce; a competency model and skills-based hiring guidance for AI positions to help agencies find people with the skills needed for those roles; and an AI competency model specifically for civil engineering. 

All of those actions were among those the agency was required to complete at the 180-day mark of the October executive order, which would have been over the weekend. The spokesperson also noted that the agency established an interagency working group for AI, as required by the order. 

OPM was given multiple actions under the sweeping order, most of which were aimed at helping agencies attract and retain a federal workforce prepared to address AI. That role is important as the government is working to rapidly hire for 100 AI positions by this summer. The latest actions from OPM give federal agencies a better roadmap for hiring workers in those positions.

They also add to OPM’s existing work under the order, which has included authorizing direct hire authority for AI-related positions and outlining incentives for attracting and retaining AI workers in the federal government. 

Notably, OPM’s action on the responsible use of generative AI comes as agencies across the government have been developing their own unique approaches to those tools for their workforces. Those policies have ranged from banning the use of certain third-party tools to allowing use across the workforce with guidelines. 

The OPM guidance, which was posted publicly Monday, outlines risks and benefits of the technology along with best practices for implementing it in work. 

Though it ultimately directs employees to consult their agency’s policy, the guidance provides examples of uses and specific considerations for those uses, such as summarizing notes and transcripts, drafting content, and using generative tools for software and code development. 

“GenAI has the potential to improve the way the federal workforce delivers results for the public,” the guidance says. “Federal employees can leverage GenAI to enhance creativity, efficiency, and productivity. Federal agencies and employees are encouraged to consider how best to use these tools to fulfill their missions.”

Under the order, OPM was required to create that guidance in consultation with the Office of Management and Budget. 

In addition to the competency models and guidance, the OPM spokesperson also disclosed that the agency issued an AI classification policy and talent acquisition guidance. While those actions support the rest of OPM’s work, they weren’t required by Biden’s executive order but rather the 2020 AI in Government Act. The spokesperson described those actions as addressing “position classification, job evaluation, qualifications, and assessments for AI positions.”

OPM is seeking feedback on that policy and guidance in a 30-day comment period ending May 29. 

This story was updated April 29, 2024, with additional information and links from OPM released Monday.

The post OPM issues generative AI guidance, competency model for AI roles required by Biden order appeared first on FedScoop.

Between the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the Office of Management and Budget, 49 of the 55 requirements in President Joe Biden’s order aimed at safeguarding federal IT systems from cyberattacks have been fully completed. Another five have been partially finished and one was deemed to be “not applicable” because of “its timing with respect to other requirements,” per the GAO.

“Completing these requirements would provide the federal government with greater assurance that its systems and data are adequately protected,” the GAO stated. 

Under the order’s section on “removing barriers to threat information,” OMB only partially incorporated into its annual budget process a required cost analysis.

“OMB could not demonstrate that its communications with pertinent federal agencies included a cost analysis for implementation of recommendations made by CISA related to the sharing of cyber threat information,” the GAO said. “Documenting the results of communications between federal agencies and OMB would increase the likelihood that agency budgets are sufficient to implement these recommendations.”

OMB also was unable to demonstrate to GAO that it had “worked with agencies to ensure they had adequate resources to implement” approaches for the deployment of endpoint detection and response, an initiative to proactively detect cyber incidents within federal infrastructure. 

“An OMB staff member stated that, due to the large number of and decentralized nature of the conversations involved, it would not have been feasible for OMB to document the results of all EDR-related communications with agencies,” the GAO said.

OMB still has work to do on logging as well. The agency shared guidance with other agencies on how best to improve log retention, log management practices and logging capabilities but did not demonstrate to the GAO that agencies had proper resources for implementation. 

CISA, meanwhile, has fallen a bit short on identifying and making available to agencies a list of “critical software” in use or in the acquisition process. OMB and NIST fully completed that requirement, but a CISA official told the GAO that the agency “was concerned about how agencies and private industry would interpret the list and planned to review existing criteria needed to validate categories of software.” A new version of the category list and a companion document with clearer explanations is forthcoming, the official added. 

CISA also has some work to do concerning the Cyber Safety Review Board. The multi-agency board, made up of representatives from the public and private sectors, has felt the heat from members of Congress and industry leaders over what they say is a lack of authority and independence. According to the GAO, CISA hasn’t fully taken steps to implement recommendations on how to improve the board’s operations. 

“CISA officials stated that it has made progress in implementing the board’s recommendations and is planning further steps to improve the board’s operational policies and procedures,” the GAO wrote. “However, CISA has not provided evidence that it is implementing these recommendations. Without CISA’s implementation of the board’s recommendations, the board may be at risk of not effectively conducting its future incident reviews.”

Federal agencies have, however, checked off the vast majority of boxes in the EO’s list. “For example, they have developed procedures for improving the sharing of cyber threat information, guidance on security measures for critical software, and a playbook for conducting incident response,” the GAO wrote. Additionally, the Office of the National Cyber Director, “in its role as overall coordinator of the order, collaborated with agencies regarding specific implementations and tracked implementation of the order.”

The GAO issued two recommendations to the Department of Homeland Security, CISA’s parent agency, and three to OMB on full implementation of the EO’s requirements. OMB did not respond with comments, while DHS agreed with GAO recommendations on defining critical software and improving the Cyber Safety Review Board’s operations.

The post Cybersecurity executive order requirements are nearly complete, GAO says appeared first on FedScoop.

“Congress, if you can hear me, please fund the TMF,” federal CIO Clare Martorana said Tuesday during an event co-hosted by Venable LLP and Trend Micro. “It does something really remarkable in our community. You have a board of experts across government that are convened together to really interrogate these proposals.”

Martorana, who also serves as board chair for the TMF, said there’s been a concerted effort to explore ways for agencies to expedite tech projects. The council of chief AI officers has reviewed a plan to accelerate tech deployment within agencies by two years, Martorana said, though there’s nothing concrete to report yet. 

When it comes to work on the technology within agencies, Martorana said establishing governance, managing risk and continuing to innovate are “the three layers of that AI cake…. The risks are significant and we don’t know them all yet. We haven’t identified this whole ecosystem yet.”

Martorana said in an interview with FedScoop after the Tuesday event that she believes that as the Office of Management and Budget and GSA disclose when tech projects across the federal government are in operation, Congress will recognize that the TMF “is a wonderful funding vehicle.” She pointed to the fund assisting with national cybersecurity efforts and improving digital experience online for customers.

“All of the things that we’re using technology to help improve service delivery for the public — safely, seamlessly [and] securely,” she said.

As agencies continue to work toward implementing new tools, Martorana said in a Thursday interview with FedScoop, that CAIO council representatives are focused on establishing an AI-capable infrastructure that has the computing power and resilience to run AI. 

“Some are gonna only be working with generative AI for a really long time and that’s not going  to take a lot of compute power,” Martorana said. “We have a span across our federal agencies.” Larger agencies “taking leaps and bounds” can have a spillover effect on smaller agencies, she added, “giving our federal workforce the opportunity to participate in this technology transformation.”

The post Federal CIO calls on Congress to fund Technology Modernization Fund appeared first on FedScoop.

In total, the department removed nine items from its website — several of which appeared to be identical use cases listed under two different agencies — and changed the bureau for a handful of the remaining items. The State Department didn’t provide a response to FedScoop’s requests for comment on why those uses were removed or changed.

The deletions came roughly a week after the Office of Management and Budget released draft guidance for 2024 inventories that says, among many other requirements, that agencies “must not remove retired or decommissioned use cases that were included in prior inventories, but instead mark them as no longer in use.” OMB has previously stated that agencies “are responsible for maintaining the accuracy of their inventories.”

AI use case inventories — which are public, annual disclosures first required by a Trump-era executive order — have so far lacked consistency. Other agencies have also made changes to their inventories outside the annual schedule, including the Department of Transportation and the Department of Homeland Security. OMB’s recent draft guidance and memo on AI governance seek to enhance and expand what is reported in those disclosures.

OMB declined to comment on the removals or whether it’s given agencies guidance on deleting items in their current inventories.

Notably, the department removed a use case titled “forecasting,” which was a pilot using statistical models to forecast outcomes that the agency told FedScoop last year it had shuttered. The description for the use case stated that it had been “applied to COVID cases as well as violent events in relation to tweets.” 

Several of the other deleted State Department uses were related to media and digital content. 

For example, the agency removed the disclosure of a “Facebook Ad Test Optimization System” that it said was used to collect media clips from around the world, a “Global Audience Segmentation Framework” it reported using to analyze “media clips reports” from embassy public affairs sections, and a “Machine-Learning Assisted Measurement and Evaluation of Public Outreach” that it said was used for “collecting, analyzing, and summarizing the global digital content footprint of the Department.” 

State also removed its disclosure of “Behavioral Analytics for Online Surveys Test (Makor Analytics),” which the agency said was a pilot that “aims to provide additional information beyond self-reported data that reflects sentiment analysis in the country of interest.” That use case had been listed under the Bureau of Information Resource Management and the Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs. Both references were removed.

Two of the removed items had been listed under two agencies but had only one disclosure removed: an AI tool for “identifying similar terms and phrases based off a root word” and a use for “optical character recognition and natural language processing on Department cables.”

Another removed use was for a “Verified Imagery Pilot Project” by the Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations. That pilot tested “how the use of a technology service, Sealr, could verify the delivery of foreign assistance to conflict-affected areas where neither” the department nor its “implementing partner could go.”

While the use case inventory was trimmed down, the department also appears to be adding uses of AI to its operations. State Chief Information Officer Kelly Fletcher recently announced that the department was launching an internal AI chatbot to help with things like translation after staff requested such a tool. 

Rebecca Heilweil and Caroline Nihill contributed to this report.

The post State Department trims several uses from public AI inventory appeared first on FedScoop.