As artificial intelligence continues to shape the landscape of federal operations, government contractors are actively supporting agency initiatives.
“We applaud the administration for moving quickly and expansively in their efforts to catalyze and guide federal use of AI,” Tom Oliver, GDIT’s vice president of digital consulting and solutions said of President Biden’s executive order on AI. “At GDIT, we agree adopting AI requires striking that right balance between accelerating innovation and implementing the technology safely and securely.”
Following the issuance of the executive order earlier this year, agencies embarked on a 150-day journey to fulfill mandated actions. These initiatives focus on enhancing AI safety and security, promoting equity and civil rights and addressing consumer and worker concerns.
In March, the Office of Management and Budget adopted a policy aimed at addressing risks from the use of AI.
The policy changes will be visible across a range of cases. Travelers, for example, can continue to opt out from the Transportation Security Administration facial recognition without losing their places in line. AI in federal healthcare can support critical diagnostic decisions, but a human being must oversee the process to verify results and avoid disparities in access to care. And when AI is used to detect fraud in government services, a real human will oversee impactful decisions and affected individuals will have a means to seek remedy for AI harms if they occur.
“If an agency cannot apply these safeguards, the agency must cease using the AI system, unless agency leadership justifies why doing so would increase risks to safety or rights overall or would create an unacceptable impediment to critical agency operations,” according to the release.
By Dec. 1, federal agencies must implement concrete safeguards such as assessments, tests and monitoring when using AI in a way that could impact Americans’ rights or safety, according to an OMB release. The mandates are designed to mitigate the risks of harm and be transparent in how the government uses AI.
Oliver said GDIT collaborated extensively with federal agencies to implement AI and complete risk assessments on the government’s AI journey.
“President Biden’s Executive Order has gotten off to a great start with much more work to come,” he said. “We look forward to doing our part in advancing the safe and secure use of AI.”