David Wennergren, CEO of the American Council for Technology and Industry Advisory Council, said government agencies should identify the opportunities of advancing the adoption of artificial intelligence while addressing a number of challenges, such as having a trained workforce and ensuring the ethical implementation of AI tools.

“Effective AI adoption presents a powerful opportunity to accelerate decision making, improve evidence-based policymaking, allow research to find new answers and cures and improve customer experience,” Wennergren, a two-time Wash100 awardee, wrote in a commentary published Friday in Nextgov/FCW.

The chief executive of ACT-IAC noted that despite the release of the latest edition of the Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act scorecard, additional changes are still needed with a focus on tech modernization initiatives that measure progress in transitioning to the cloud.

The FITARA scorecard should incorporate cybersecurity measures and new approaches like zero trust, integrate customer experience improvement activities, advance the shift to digital platforms and make AI adoption a federal priority, according to Wennergren.

“As we ride the wave of enthusiasm for the adoption of AI tools, we have a corresponding moment of opportunity to move away from the current climate of ‘gotcha’ oversight that focuses on highlighting what has gone wrong, and instead focus on outcomes and measuring the progress of our plans,” Wennergren stated.

Register here to attend the Potomac Officers Club’s 5th Annual Artificial Intelligence Summit on March 21 and hear federal leaders and industry experts discuss the latest developments in the field.

The NASA Office of Inspector General recently called out the space agency the for the “disjointed” way it has organized and managed its high-end computing, or HEC, capabilities.

Unless “key changes” are implemented, NASA’s HEC resources will likely hinder rather than enable future mission priorities, the OIG said in an audit report released Thursday.

The audit found that NASA’s HEC capabilities are overseen by a single scientist within the Earth Science Research Program at the Science Mission Directorate. This scientist is responsible for HEC capabilities at two separate facilities — the Goddard Space Flight Center and the Ames Research Center — while concurrently handling Earth science duties.

The Office of the Chief Information Officer is not directly involved in governing HEC resources.

The OIG says that due, in part, to this mode of organization, NASA is unable to keep up with technological developments and computing requirements, resulting in its existing HEC resources being overburdened. Consequently, various teams across the agency have expressed hesitation to use the HEC resources at all, while others have opted to acquire and manage their own HEC tools, an approach that has cybersecurity repercussions.

To resolve these problems, the OIG recommended that NASA appoint a leader who will “determine the appropriate definition, scope, ownership, organizational placement, and structure” of the agency’s HEC capabilities. The inspector general also called for, among other things, the identification of technology gaps, the development of a strategy for HEC resource allocation and an inventory of HEC assets across the agency.

Cyber experts, government leaders and industry visionaries will speak about the dynamic and evolving role of cyber in the public sector at the Potomac Officers Club’s 2024 Cyber Summit, which will take place in June. Register now to attend this important event!

The General Services Administration has issued an acquisition letter providing contracting officers guidance on payment for software licenses delivered through software-as-a-service.

The letter signed Friday by Jeffrey Koses, senior procurement executive at GSA’s Office of Acquisition Policy states that an upfront payment for licenses accessed or delivered through SaaS should not be considered an advance payment.

An upfront payment is not considered advance payment if it meets certain conditions: access to software is granted contemporaneously with payment; the license is procured on a fixed-price or fixed-price with economic price adjustment basis; and the license’s billing or pricing model allows for no utilization or consumption metric other than quantity.

GSA said the acquisition letter is effective immediately.

The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy has issued a new strategy outlining the goals, needs and actions required in the next five years to strengthen the microelectronics research and development infrastructure in accordance with the CHIPS for America Act.

The National Strategy on Microelectronics Research calls for the White House, federal agencies, academia, industry and international partners to work together to pursue four interconnected goals, the White House said Friday.

The four goals are enabling and accelerating research advances for future generations of microelectronics; supporting, building and bridging microelectronics infrastructure from research to manufacturing; growing and sustaining the technical workforce for the microelectronics R&D to manufacturing ecosystem; and creating a vibrant microelectronics innovation ecosystem to accelerate the transition of R&D to U.S. industry.

Each of the four goals comes with specific objectives.

For the first goal, objectives include accelerating R&D of materials that provide new capabilities; increasing the capabilities of circuit design, simulation and emulation tools; developing a diverse array of robust processing architectures and associated hardware needed for future systems; and prioritizing hardware integrity and security as an element in co-design strategies across the stack.

“This whole-of-government strategy encourages the microelectronics R&D community to bring their diverse expertise, entrepreneurial spirit, and drive to focus on a common purpose—to ensure that America remains a global leader in this important field,” said Stephen Welby, deputy director for national security at OSTP.

“We now turn to the implementation of this strategy, leveraging the once-in-generation investments by government and the private sector—fueled by President Biden’s CHIPS and Science Act and the urgency to energize U.S. semiconductor innovation for the future,” Welby added.