Phoenix Strategies, Inc.

Following a 1-year review, a bipartisan group of Senators (two Democrats and two Republicans) led by Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, released a roadmap for investment ($32B over three years) and safeguards (but no recommendations for regulations) to "harness the opportunities and address the risks" associated with development of AI technologies. Meanwhile, the House AI Taskforce continues its efforts to develop a structure for standards and policies to ensure responsible government use of AI. The next convening of the Task Force will focus on the development of standards and evaluations for trustworthy AI, regulations governing the use of AI in federal systems, and actions taken on these topics pursuant to the recent executive order on AI. 1) A lot more than $32B over 3 years is needed if the US is to truly lead the world in AI development; 2) it should be a separate "moon-shot" type of supplemental appropriations that is focused and transparent with documented performance metrics; and 3) regulations are urgently needed around responsible applications of AI tools including application/utilization by government agencies and privacy/safety protections for private-sector applications. https://lnkd.in/ef6dtVUh

On March 28th, OMB issues guidance to Federal agencies regarding the use of AI, including: risk mitigation, workforce development, transparency and reporting, and creating an AI management structure in each agency. Contractors need to understand how this will apply to Federal agencies, but also how it will eventually apply to their interaction with and how they provide services to the agencies they work with.

Have you seen the FedRAMP Implementation Roadmap recently released by GSA? "The roadmap outlines four strategic goals for 2024 to 2025, which include: orienting FedRAMP around CX, positioning the program as a leader in cybersecurity and risk management, significantly scaling the size and scope of a trusted FedRAMP marketplace, and increasing program effectiveness through automation and technology-forward operations." https://lnkd.in/e2qAA_ta

The Technology Modernization Fund (TMF) was created in 2017 to help fund the projects at Federal agencies that enable them to better serve the American public. These are the non-primary mission projects that improve the citizen experience, provide security of data and the IT systems, and promote the more efficient use of taxpayer dollars. Now the Senate wants to cut $100M from the fund which can be interpreted as short-sighted, at best, or intentionally undermining the government's citizen service delivery, at worst. The TMF is a "working capital fund" where funds need to be paid back by the agencies that borrow from it and allows for multi-year funding of IT projects that often get overlooked in the traditional annual appropriations cycle. If Congress truly wants government to run "more like a business," they need to give more flexibility to leveraging tools like working capital funds that incentivize efficiency, cost avoidance, and "retained earnings." https://lnkd.in/esCki_4j

Yet another example of why many of us in industry strongly opposed attempts to cut approximately 25% of CISA funding last year during the appropriations process. Maintaining a reactive posture by simply placing those affected in credit monitoring or privacy programs is as irresponsible as it is ineffective. DHS has the responsibility for continuous diagnostic and mitigation, proactive defense, and effective reporting for public/private information sharing models. Congress must do its part to provide the resources and perform the oversight to ensure we are protected from our adversaries: 1) fully fund CISA, including the Shared Cybersecurity Services (SCS) office; 2) provide additional funds to the TMF to increase the pace of IT modernization and strengthening the cyber posture of agencies; 3) get an accurate audit of legacy IT systems that may be vulnerable; 4) modernize FedRAMP and FISMA legislation to update the standards for government and commercial providers; and 5) get an accurate inventory of AI use cases for cybersecurity operations. #cybersecurity #datasecurity https://lnkd.in/emxyGYzx

Staying aware of the inevitable changes in the procurement policies and processes that accompany AI adoption is essential. How the government purchases something can often determine success or failure as much as what they purchase. Take a look at the recent article from Trey Hodgkins in Fed News Network discussing the rapidly evolving landscape of AI rules and guidance that contractors must adhere to in order to ensure the responsible and compliant integration of AI in their products, software, and service offerings. #AI #govcon #innovation #procurement https://lnkd.in/edQJFjCk

Today, the White House AI Council met to provide an update on the progress made on the E.O. implementation. To date, Agencies have completed all of the 90-day actions tasked by the E.O. and advanced other vital directives that the Order tasked over a longer timeframe. This is a significant step towards a more effective framework around AI application and utilization throughout the Federal government and private sector. https://lnkd.in/eAiJ88q9  

On Friday, the EU Parliament and Council reached an initial agreement on the Artificial Intelligence Act, which will apply significant regulations on the use of certain AI tools and outright bans certain applications, including: - biometric categorization systems that use sensitive characteristics (e.g. political, religious, philosophical beliefs, sexual orientation, race); - untargeted scraping of facial images from the internet or CCTV footage to create facial recognition databases; - emotion recognition in the workplace and educational institutions; social scoring based on social behavior or personal characteristics; - AI systems that manipulate human behavior to circumvent their free will; and - AI used to exploit the vulnerabilities of people (due to their age, disability, social or economic situation).   Similar to their more aggressive internet privacy laws, the EU is leaning well ahead of US regulatory structures to protect potential threats to citizens’ rights. Section 8 of the President’s Executive Order on AI titled - Protecting Consumers, Patients, Passengers, and Students - states that “independent regulatory agencies are ENCOURAGED, AS THEY DEEM APPROPRIATE, to CONDISER using their full range of authorities to protect American consumers from fraud, discrimination, and threats to privacy and to address other risks that may arise from the use of AI…” The Order then lays out a timeline for agencies to report their recommendations (but not requiring regulatory proposals) on how to mitigate the risks to citizens' rights. The application AI is already transforming enormous portions of our society in ways we are just beginning to understand. The President’s E.O. attempts to develop some guiderails without stifling innovation. However, there must be stringer, clearer directives to develop regulations to govern (and even ban some) AI applications/uses or we will continue to fall short of the civil protections being developed in the EU. #AI #privacy https://lnkd.in/gTNXbeMi