FedScoop

This week, the 2024 #FedScoop50 Awards brought together federal technology leaders at The Hay-Adams in Washington, D.C., to celebrate their outstanding contributions to innovation and transformation in government and public service. A huge congratulations to this year’s honorees—your dedication to progress is driving meaningful change and shaping the future of federal technology. Special thanks to our sponsors— AWS Public Sector, Google for Government, Salesforce, SAP | Carahsoft, and T-Mobile for Government—for supporting this celebration of excellence. ✨ Explore the full list of 2024 winners: https://lnkd.in/ex3P9fH5 Golden Gov: Federal Executive of the Year: Paul Abbate | Leslie Beavers | Guy Cavallo | Ann Dunkin | Dr. Kelly E. Fletcher | Jason Gray | Mina Hsiang | Eric Hysen | Clare Martorana | Drew Myklegard | Melinda Rogers | Danny Werfel Federal Leadership: Tony Arcadi | Hemant Baidwan | Sheena Burrell | Terry Carpenter | Kirsten Dalboe | Michael Duffy | Brian E. | Marcela Escobar-Alava | Dr. Matthew Graviss | Cynthia Kaiser | Ted Kaouk, PhD | Robert King | Ann Lewis | David McKeown | Adele Merritt | Eric Mill | Daniel Morgan | Nand Mulchandani | Yemi Oshinnaiye | Kaschit Pandya | Lakshmi Raman | James Saunders | Micky Tripathi | Zach Whitman | Charles Worthington

The Department of Homeland Security has built an artificial intelligence-based chatbot it’s calling DHSChat, the latest in a string of agency experimentations with generative AI. DHSChat is designed as a chatbot meant for internal use within the agency, according to a press release shared Tuesday. The tool was developed by DHS’s AI Corps and its director, Michael Boyce, after employees experimented with commercial generative AI tools, including Claude and ChatGPT. https://lnkd.in/eDBzFfP4

Adele Merritt has been named the top IT official for the National Institutes of Health, giving the agency a permanent chief information officer for the first time in roughly two years. Merritt, who was most recently the CIO of the intelligence community, began her roles as CIO and director of the agency’s Office of the Chief Information Officer on Monday, NIH Director Monica M. Bertagnolli said in a written announcement. https://lnkd.in/eCEnc66C

The Department of Homeland Security on Tuesday released the latest version of its artificial intelligence use case inventory, reporting 158 active applications for the technology — a major jump from the 67 it made public last year. In an explanatory blog post outlining how the agency approaches artificial intelligence, Eric Hysen, the agency’s CAIO and CIO, said that 29 deployed AI use cases and 10 upcoming AI use cases were deemed to be rights- or safety-impacting, a new level of scrutiny established by recent White House guidance. Roughly half of those deployed use cases included technologies related to face recognition and face-capture technologies, he said. https://lnkd.in/e85GcetZ

House AI task force members on Tuesday touted the long-awaited release of their report outlining recommendations to Congress on the federal government’s adoption of AI, while confirming that lawmakers are in conversation with the incoming administration about the very same topics. The nearly 300-page report digs into a plethora of areas that the emerging technology touches, including the government’s own use of AI, along with recommendations concerning AI governance and the AI workforce. https://lnkd.in/eVJm9jkR

The Department of Homeland Security should improve guidance for risk assessments focused on artificial intelligence and the threats the technology could pose to critical infrastructure sectors, the Government Accountability Office said in a report released Wednesday. The watchdog report, which recommends that DHS “quickly” update its “guidance and template for AI risk assessments” to address various gaps, comes amid ongoing concern that AI could be used to undermine critical infrastructure sectors, which range from dams and IT systems to emergency services. https://lnkd.in/eTJnVQkH

A consolidated list of federal artificial intelligence use cases released by the White House on Wednesday shows agencies more than doubled the amount of uses reported last year. Per the 2024 consolidated inventory, which is available on the Office of Management and Budget’s GitHub, 37 federal agencies have reported 1,757 public AI uses. A consolidated list released by the White House last year documented 710 use cases. The consolidated inventory is the product of an annual AI inventory process that was initially established in December 2020 and has continued to evolve. It gives the latest snapshot of how the federal government is handling the rapidly growing technology and reflects the Biden administration’s safety-based approach to AI. https://lnkd.in/ehB5Riux

🚀 Join Us at the Elastic Public Sector Summit 2025! 🌟 📅 Date: March 19, 2025 ⏰ Time: 8:00 AM - 1:00 PM ET 📍 Location: Waldorf Astoria, Washington, D.C. 🔗 Register Now: Click here to secure your seat! - https://lnkd.in/gDGSxizX ✨ For public sector organizations, data is the key to unlocking mission success. But with the rapid rise of AI and an ever-growing data landscape, how can leaders securely and effectively leverage this resource? 💡 Discover: ✅ Innovations in data management, search, and analytics ✅ Real-world applications of zero trust, generative AI, and data mesh ✅ Insights from top federal program executives and IT leaders 🎓 Earn CPE Credits: Learn while you grow! Find out more about CPE credits here. 📢 Calling All Partners! Want to showcase your brand at this prestigious event? 🌐 Contact us at elastic.sponsorships@scoopnewsgroup.com to explore sponsorship opportunities! 💬 Let’s shape the future of public sector innovation together! Seats are limited—don’t miss out. How you can help: + Become a Sponsor + Buy an individual ticket + Repost to your network + Share with your network + Reach out for more information #ElasticSummit2025 #PublicSectorInnovation #AI #DataAnalytics #ZeroTrust #GenerativeAI #DataMesh Chris Townsend Sean MacKirdy Jennifer Nowell John Hepler Graham Stroman George Teas Traviss Green David Babyak Tim Hong Rob Place Sumav Earley Nina Jacoby Ariana Aguilar Michael Carioti Melissa Rigney Chris Reid Jennifer Jarrad Karen McDermott Mike Lee Amie Stariha Garrett West Sara French Paul Grew Dave Henley Tonia Powell Michael Smith Marianna Jonsdottir Alyssa Fitzpatrick Olga Perez-Bonnelly Shealinn Metzger Jack Saslowsky Vanessa Espinoza FedScoop Goldy Kamali Cheryl Romero

The Department of Homeland Security revealed Thursday a new partnership with the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory to develop technology to detect fentanyl. The $2.8 million award, which was offered by DHS’s Science and Technology Directorate, is expected to last three years. The collaboration with the Department of Energy’s PNNL — news that was shared first with FedScoop — will build on prior DHS work with the Department of the Interior focused on developing drug detection technology at the ports of entry, as well as Customs and Border Protection machine-learning systems designed to detect drugs coming through mail facilities. https://lnkd.in/e4n5XnwB

The FBI’s ability to fully embrace artificial intelligence has been hamstrung by funding constraints and various workforce and technical challenges, according to a new watchdog report. The Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General said the FBI has “demonstrated initiative” and taken steps to “integrate AI capabilities in a manner consistent” with guidance from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. But substantial progress has been difficult to come by due to barriers that have “impeded” more “accelerated adoption” of AI. https://lnkd.in/ebYss4EP