{"id":26098,"date":"2023-05-17T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-05-17T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/uncategorized\/2023\/05\/17\/ideas-for-ai-in-government-are-there-the-people-arent-experts-say\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T05:05:33","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T05:05:33","slug":"ideas-for-ai-in-government-are-there-the-people-arent-experts-say","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/it-networks\/2023\/05\/17\/ideas-for-ai-in-government-are-there-the-people-arent-experts-say\/","title":{"rendered":"Ideas for AI in government are there. The people aren\u2019t, experts say"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The federal government has put forward a number of policy blueprints to ensure ethical and transparent use of artificial intelligence in government. <\/a>They mean little if agencies lack the leadership and workers to enforce them, which they currently do, tech experts said before Senate lawmakers on Tuesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

AI has been gaining popularity over time as agencies have been attracted to the idea of automating rote processes. The concern is that without an expert workforce to guide its trajectory, AI could lead to situation where agencies are riding without training wheels, causing harm to themselves and others, experts said before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Government Affairs on May 16.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Consider: there is a vacancy for the director of the National Artificial Intelligence Initiative Office within the White House \u2014 a role that is key to coordinating AI policy and research across government. There are agencies who\u2019ve yet to install a chief AI officer. There are some 40,000 cybersecurity jobs to fill in the public sector to support government\u2019s approach to ethical, safe AI use. During a separate hearing the CEO of ChatGPT himself urged government intervention<\/a> as necessary to mitigate risks of powerful AI systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Such leadership holes make it difficult for agencies to craft and curb the technology, said Lynne Parker, a professor at the University of Tennessee and the former director of NAIIO. Experts urged specific guardrails for automated technology that at its most extreme can formulaically <\/a>cut subsistence funding for Medicaid beneficiaries<\/a> without so much as a review by a benefits officer \u2014 an example given by a witness attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union.<\/p>\n\n\n\t