HHS AI strategy hinges on culture shift, knowledge exchange

It won't be in the Olympics anytime soon but Oki Mek considers artificial intelligence "a team sport." As the chief artificial intelligence officer for the Department of Health and Human Services, Mek may be a little biased, but as his agency works through its AI strategy -- released in January -- collaboration and knowledge exchange will be paramount. The strategy aims to promote AI adoption, and to ensure that algorithms are fair, legal and ethical. Three core pieces of the strategy are adoption and bringing the entire department up to speed on the language of AI; scaling best practices, and accelerated adoption. As for the first piece, Mek said culture change plays a pivotal role. "The main risks here is not AI itself, it's not the technology itself, it's more of a culture shift.