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Bipartisan Senate Bill Aims to Drive AI Research, Accountability
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Bipartisan Senate Bill Aims to Drive AI Research, Accountability

Six members of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee have proposed a bipartisan bill that seeks to create a framework to foster innovation in the field of artificial intelligence and improve security and accountability when it comes to developing and operating AI in high-impact applications.

The proposed AI Research, Innovation and Accountability Act of 2023 would direct the National Institute of Standards and Technology to perform research to drive the development of standards that would provide provenance information for online content and help detect and understand emergent properties in AI tools.

“This legislation would bolster the United States’ leadership and innovation in AI while also establishing common-sense safety and security guardrails for the highest-risk AI applications,” Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., said in a statement published Wednesday.

Thune introduced the measure with Sens. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn.; Roger Wicker, R-Miss.; John Hickenlooper, D-Colo.; Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va.; and Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M.

The bill would require critical-impact AI organizations to self-certify their compliance with standards prescribed by the Department of Commerce, direct companies to field critical-impact AI to conduct detailed risk assessments and ask NIST to come up with recommendations to agencies for technical, risk-based guardrails on “high-impact” AI platforms.

The legislation would also direct the Commerce Department to create a working group to offer recommendations for the development of consumer education initiatives for AI systems.

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DOD Discloses Results of 6th Annual Financial Audit; Mike McCord Quoted
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DOD Discloses Results of 6th Annual Financial Audit; Mike McCord Quoted

In the sixth annual audit of its consolidated financial statements, the Department of Defense reported that seven of the 29 component agencies received unmodified audit opinions and one secured a qualified opinion.

DOD said Wednesday the consolidated fiscal year 2023 financial audit led to a disclaimer of opinion.

“Auditing the Department’s $3.8 trillion in assets and $4.0 trillion in liabilities is a massive undertaking but the improvements and changes we are making every day as a result of these audits positively affect every soldier, sailor, airman, marine, guardian, and DoD civilian,” said Mike McCord, under secretary of defense (comptroller)/chief financial officer and a previous Wash100 awardee.

According to the department, the U.S. Marine Corps, the DOD Office of Inspector General and the Defense Information Systems Agency Working Capital Fund have yet to receive the results of their financial audits and all other components secured disclaimers of opinion.

DOD evaluated audit progress across the areas of business operations, workforce modernization, enhanced public confidence, reliable networks and quality decision-making.

The department noted that it resolved its fund balance with Treasury material weakness and addressed in FY 2023 three improper payment programs that are designated as high priority.

DOE Invests $444 Million in 16 Projects to Advance CO2 Safe Storage Infrastructure
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DOE Invests $444 Million in 16 Projects to Advance CO2 Safe Storage Infrastructure

The Department of Energy has selected 16 projects across 12 states to receive over $444 million in funding under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to help reduce carbon emissions from industrial operations and power plants.

The awardees will support the Carbon Storage Assurance Facility Enterprise initiative and focus on developing and expanding large-scale, commercial carbon storage projects that could securely store 50 million or more metric tons of carbon dioxide for 30 years, DOE said Tuesday.

Nine projects will receive CarbonSAFE Phase II awards to improve procedures to conduct technical, economic and community assessments for potential carbon dioxide storage complexes.

DOE selected seven projects for CarbonSAFE Phase III awards for detailed site characterization, planning and permitting.

Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said DOE is investing in “responsible carbon storage infrastructure” to address climate change challenges while “revitalizing local economies and delivering cleaner air to the American people.”

The National Energy Technology Laboratory will manage the selected projects.

Johns Hopkins APL-Backed Projects Secure NIH Brain Mapping Research Funding
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Johns Hopkins APL-Backed Projects Secure NIH Brain Mapping Research Funding

Two projects supported by the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory have secured funding from the National Institutes of Health to accelerate neuroscience research and inform new approaches to treating human brain disorders.

The funding was awarded through NIH’s BRAIN Initiative Connectivity Across Scales program to develop technologies designed to map brain circuits in detail to gain a better understanding of neural networks, Johns Hopkins APL said Tuesday.

A team of researchers from Johns Hopkins APL brings expertise in cloud computing pipelines, systems engineering and machine learning to participate in the projects led by Harvard University professors Jeff Lichtman and Aravi Samuel.

Lichtman’s project aims to demonstrate the feasibility of generating a synapse-level brain map by creating a serial-section electron microscopy pipeline that could scale up to map an entire mouse brain.

Meanwhile, Samuel’s research is working to to speed up and optimize image generation to improve downstream steps.

POC - 2023 Healthcare Summit

Join the Potomac Officers Club’s 2023 Healthcare Summit on Dec. 6 to learn about emerging innovations and trends in the health care sector. Click here to register.

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CISA Strategy Conceived to Use AI to Boost Cybersecurity, Defend Critical Infrastructure
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CISA Strategy Conceived to Use AI to Boost Cybersecurity, Defend Critical Infrastructure

A new artificial intelligence roadmap from the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency will be implemented to leverage AI as a cyber defense tool as well as a resource to protect critical infrastructure.

CISA announced Tuesday that the first-ever whole-of-agency plan will also lay the foundation for interagency collaboration and communication to shape AI-based software policies.

Aside from collective regulation and cyber and critical infrastructure defense, the Roadmap for Artificial Intelligence lines of effort additionally includes pushing for secure-by-design principles and empowering and upskilling AI workforce.

Wash100 awardees Jen Easterly, director of CISA, and Alejandro Mayorkas, secretary of DHS, elaborated on the significance of the AI roadmap.

Easterly said that the guidance “sets forth an agency-wide plan to promote the beneficial uses of AI to enhance cybersecurity capabilities; ensure AI systems are protected from cyber-based threats; and deter the malicious use of AI capabilities to threaten the critical infrastructure Americans rely on every day.”

Mayorkas explained that the roadmap was part of DHS’ “broad leadership role in advancing the responsible use of AI.” He referred to the Biden administration’s directive for DHS to promote safety standards for the responsible development of such technologies.

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America Makes & NCDMM Receive Ceiling Increases on Contracts With AFRL, Army
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America Makes & NCDMM Receive Ceiling Increases on Contracts With AFRL, Army

America Makes and the National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining have announced ceiling increases on their contract vehicles with the Department of Defense.

America Makes said Tuesday it saw its third cooperative agreement with the Air Force Research Laboratory rise by $256 million to $483 million, enabling it to support workforce development efforts and further drive the adoption of additive manufacturing, or AM, technology to improve U.S. security, resiliency and competitiveness.

CA3 is a seven-year contract awarded to America Makes in 2019.

Founded in 2012, America Makes is a public-private partnership that launched as DOD’s national manufacturing innovation institute for AM. The Youngstown, Ohio-based institute is composed of member organizations from the government, industry and academia focused on advancing AM tech adoption.

In September, NCDMM received a ceiling increase of approximately $176 million to its potential five-year, $69 million indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract with the U.S. Army, bringing the total ceiling value to more than $246 million.

The IDIQ contract with the Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Aviation and Missile Center allows DOD and other agencies to use the services offered by NCDMM and its alliance network to support projects associated with manufacturing technology, process analysis, assessments, development and implementation of manufacturing platforms.

Established in 2003, NCDMM is based in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, and helps the Army and other customers execute applied research and development projects to enhance defense weapons systems and related platforms.

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Christopher Lowman: Proactive Readiness Framework Needs Focus on Materiel, Operational Availability
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Christopher Lowman: Proactive Readiness Framework Needs Focus on Materiel, Operational Availability

Christopher Lowman, assistant secretary of defense for sustainment, suggested focusing on materiel availability and operational availability metrics to build a proactive approach to measuring military readiness and sustainment.

“My hypothesis is that an increased focus on materiel availability, operational availability and other sustainment health measures offers a proactive approach that integrates the expected engineered performance with the realities of the sustainment phase to better understand fleet performance over time,” Lowman wrote in an opinion article DefenseNews published Wednesday.

He noted that shifting toward a more data-centric, proactive framework requires metrics that enable the sustainment community to anticipate challenges rather than react to conditions.

This approach will allow sustainers to access “a rich data set” from which they can draw fleet-level conclusions, prioritize resources and streamline supply chain performance and maintenance schedules.

“By pivoting to these sustainment health measures, we can transition from a solely reactive readiness-based approach to one that emphasizes fleet health, supply chain performance, cost and return on investment in the form of availability,” Lowman said.

POC - Achieving Transformative Cooperation for National Defense Forum

Lowman will speak at the Potomac Officers Club’s Achieving Transformative Cooperation for National Defense Forum on March 14. Click here to register and join the discussion on the future of Combined Joint All-Domain Command and Control and its impact on international security.

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CDAO Accomplishes Key Deliverable of Responsible AI Strategy With Toolkit for RAI Ethics
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CDAO Accomplishes Key Deliverable of Responsible AI Strategy With Toolkit for RAI Ethics

The Department of Defense advanced its 2022 responsible artificial intelligence, or RAI, strategy with the release of an RAI toolkit to improve ethical compliance of its AI projects.

DOD’s Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office formulated the toolkit, which is based on several standards including the Defense Innovation Unit’s RAI Guidelines and Worksheets, the agency announced Tuesday.

The online platform is a key deliverable of the 2022 DOD RAI Strategy and Implementation Pathway, which discusses 64 lines of effort to execute the agency’s AI ethical principles. It provides guidance for modular assessments as well as parameters for developing AI technologies moving forward.

CDAO’s RAI Division will oversee the continuous enhancement of the toolkit, with plans to conduct information sessions and external feedback through its website.

“Responsible AI is foundational for anything that the DoD builds and ships,” Chief Digital and AI Officer Craig Martell remarked. “We promised to establish processes to design and employ human fail-safes in AI development and deployment, and we’re excited to provide this applied Toolkit for our end users.” the Wash100 awardee added.

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Wendy Piazza Appointed Director of Contracts at Platform Aerospace
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Wendy Piazza Appointed Director of Contracts at Platform Aerospace

Wendy Piazza has been selected by Platform Aerospace as its new director of contracts.

She brings over two decades of contracting experience to Platform, the Hollywood, Maryland-based company shared with ExecutiveGov in an email on Monday.

Platform Aerospace President and CEO Kurt Parsons said the organization is “extremely excited” to welcome Piazza to its team.

He shared Piazza’s responsibilities in her new position, which include laying out the strategic vision for Platform’s contracts department and determining how the enterprise can add value for current and potential clients.

Piazza said she is “thrilled to be part of the Platform family” and looks forward to “providing innovative contracting solutions to Platform’s current and future customers.”

Before joining Platform, Piazza held numerous contract-related roles. She most recently served as senior director of contracts at Xator Corporation, which was acquired by Parsons Corporation in 2022. Earlier, she was director of contracts at TSM Corporation, now owned by Xator, and director of contracts and administration at Coalescent Technologies, where she worked for nearly 10 years.

Parsons said Piazza’s broad understanding of relevant business activities, including defense contracts, program management, mergers and acquisitions and more, will make a “valuable impact on our team.”

Her appointment follows Platform’s September appointment of Richard Clarke, a retired U.S. Army general, to its Board of Directors. As a board member, he is responsible for helping to improve the production of the company’s unmanned aerial vehicle for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance.

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DISA Deploys Classified Cloud Through DEOS Blanket Purchase Agreement; Carissa Landymore Quoted
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DISA Deploys Classified Cloud Through DEOS Blanket Purchase Agreement; Carissa Landymore Quoted

The Defense Information Systems Agency has collaborated with General Dynamics Information Technology and Microsoft to develop and launch a cloud software-as-a-service offering in a classified environment for the Department of Defense.

DISA said Tuesday it launched the DOD365-Sec classified cloud platform using the potential 10-year, $8 billion Defense Enterprise Office Solutions blanket purchase agreement.

In 2020, the General Services Administration and DOD re-awarded the DEOS BPA to GDIT as a result of a corrective action.

Dell Marketing and Minburn Technology Group serve as GDIT’s teaming partners for the DEOS program to support the implementation of Microsoft 365 email, storage, file sharing, spreadsheet, word processing, collaboration and other productivity tools across DOD.

DISA initiated the deployment phase for DOD365-Sec in late May and expects to migrate about 275,000 end users to the secret cloud environment by the end of 2023.

Carissa Landymore, director for the DEOS program at DISA, said one of the agency’s top priorities is delivering DOD365-Sec to warfighters to enable them to facilitate classified data sharing, collaboration and communication.

“By offering solutions for seamless and secure information-sharing across operational boundaries, we’re providing warfighters with modern tools that allow them to operate ahead of the adversary and meet their mission anytime, anywhere,” Landymore added.

DISA is using and testing third-party capabilities to achieve data protection and data separation in the classified cloud environment.

“We’re putting additional security…more fence, more guardrails…around this. We’re moving toward data segregation and zero trust as the long-term objective,” noted Landymore.

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