The Future of AI in Government

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is no longer just a plot line for science fiction movies. The reality of AI is not walking robots threatening to take over human tasks, but instead it is being implemented in our daily lives to complement the way people work and learn. For example, known by their first names Alexa and Siri, these AI figures will soon overtake Cher and Madonna as the most famous one-named women in the world (if they haven't already). AI is also what enables the instant customer service "representative" to pop up on a website to help answer basic questions. With its commonplace use in the commercial market, AI and machine learning are making their way into agencies across government.[Tweet "AI and machine learning are making their way into agencies across government. #GovEventsBlog"]

AI is becoming a key tool to help streamline response to citizen questions as citizen (customer) service has become a top priority across all government agencies. The IRS is beginning to use chatbots to help manage the 75 million phone calls, and 500 billion website visits from taxpayers each year (a number that will likely grow with tax changes). There's also interest in how AI can improve cybersecurity posture by automating more and more cyber monitoring so that systems are responding to threats at machine speed. AI also holds the answer to many big data challenges. The speed of automated machine processing can help agencies get more value out of the massive amounts of data they own for improved service, programs, and mission achievement.

In addition to understanding how to implement the technology, there is also a need to understand the policy behind using AI in government. The Future of AI Act includes establishing a federal advisory committee to examine a wide range of questions surrounding how technologies like automation, machine learning and other forms of AI would impact society. If approved, the committee would look at how AI technologies impact the workforce, international cooperation and competitiveness, open data sharing, legal rights and more.[Tweet "A few of the events on government AI solutions and technology. #GovEventsBlog"]

Implementing AI and building an infrastructure for machine learning is complex both in terms of the technology and the policy. Luckily there are a number of events posted on GovEvents that dive into how government can and should implement AI solutions. Here are just a few:

• AFCEA DC - 8^th Annual Cyber Security Summit (February 27, 2018; Arlington, VA) - This event includes cyber talks and fireside chats with leading scientists, government officials, and private industry experts discussing the future of federal cybersecurity and information resilience. This year's event will have a focus on AI's role in cyber defense.
• FCW Workshop: AI Augmented Government (March 13, 2018; Washington, DC) -- This workshop will bring together IT leaders from government and industry to explore the future of AI and machine learning in government. The sessions will include both agency case studies and tech discussions, and will look at key issues that agencies must consider when adopting AI-based solutions. The event will also highlight emerging best practices in early efforts with augmented government.
• Machine Learning & AI Developers Conference (March 21, 2018; Santa Clara, CA) -Designed for technologists and developers, this event provides a look into the implementation of Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence technologies in embedded systems.
• ai - Applied AI for Developers (April 9-11, 2018; San Francisco, CA) - AI was once only the domain for PhD level data scientists. But as tooling and libraries are becoming more available and understood, that's changing. Software engineers are moving into this field creating new roles, such as Machine Learning Engineers. This event helps senior software engineers and architects uncover the real-world patterns, practices, and use cases for applying artificial intelligence/machine learning in engineering.
• Interop ITX (April 30- May 4, 2018; Las Vegas, NV) -- With a Data and Analytics track and a government track, this event helps technology leaders keep up with today's challenges and drive their mission forward.
• Red Hat Summit 2018 (May 8-10, 2018; San Francisco, CA) -Focused on open source technology and development, this summit will include a look at how AI technology can make use of open source code.

[Tweet "What applications of AI you are seeing across government? #GovEventsBlog"]What applications of AI you are seeing across government and where are you finding the best education about this emerging technology? Let us know in the comment section below.