Phoenix Strategies, Inc.

Following a 1-year review, a bipartisan group of Senators (two Democrats and two Republicans) led by Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, released a roadmap for investment ($32B over three years) and safeguards (but no recommendations for regulations) to "harness the opportunities and address the risks" associated with development of AI technologies. Meanwhile, the House AI Taskforce continues its efforts to develop a structure for standards and policies to ensure responsible government use of AI. The next convening of the Task Force will focus on the development of standards and evaluations for trustworthy AI, regulations governing the use of AI in federal systems, and actions taken on these topics pursuant to the recent executive order on AI. 1) A lot more than $32B over 3 years is needed if the US is to truly lead the world in AI development; 2) it should be a separate "moon-shot" type of supplemental appropriations that is focused and transparent with documented performance metrics; and 3) regulations are urgently needed around responsible applications of AI tools including application/utilization by government agencies and privacy/safety protections for private-sector applications. https://lnkd.in/ef6dtVUh

On March 28th, OMB issues guidance to Federal agencies regarding the use of AI, including: risk mitigation, workforce development, transparency and reporting, and creating an AI management structure in each agency. Contractors need to understand how this will apply to Federal agencies, but also how it will eventually apply to their interaction with and how they provide services to the agencies they work with.

Have you seen the FedRAMP Implementation Roadmap recently released by GSA? "The roadmap outlines four strategic goals for 2024 to 2025, which include: orienting FedRAMP around CX, positioning the program as a leader in cybersecurity and risk management, significantly scaling the size and scope of a trusted FedRAMP marketplace, and increasing program effectiveness through automation and technology-forward operations." https://lnkd.in/e2qAA_ta

The Technology Modernization Fund (TMF) was created in 2017 to help fund the projects at Federal agencies that enable them to better serve the American public. These are the non-primary mission projects that improve the citizen experience, provide security of data and the IT systems, and promote the more efficient use of taxpayer dollars. Now the Senate wants to cut $100M from the fund which can be interpreted as short-sighted, at best, or intentionally undermining the government's citizen service delivery, at worst. The TMF is a "working capital fund" where funds need to be paid back by the agencies that borrow from it and allows for multi-year funding of IT projects that often get overlooked in the traditional annual appropriations cycle. If Congress truly wants government to run "more like a business," they need to give more flexibility to leveraging tools like working capital funds that incentivize efficiency, cost avoidance, and "retained earnings." https://lnkd.in/esCki_4j