Pilots, Bias Important Considerations Ahead of Deploying AI

Pilots can serve as a critical resource for agency insiders as they begin to deploy artificial intelligence, and considerations around built-in bias should be addressed from the earliest of efforts, federal officials with firsthand experience leveraging the technology said in Washington Tuesday. "One beauty of the cloud is you can do a pilot, and if it fails just turn it off--it's not like buying millions in servers and then find that you are going to go in a different direction," Small Business Administration Deputy Chief Information Officer Guy Cavallo said at Nextgov's Tech Talks. "We have actually done three 90-day sprint pilots that have revolutionized the way we work." Cavallo explained how SBA effectively implemented artificial intelligence and the cloud to enhance their cybersecurity capabilities and supplement what human employees are able to do. Elaborating on the success he's seen through various piloting projects related to that work, Cavallo said the agency participated in one with General Services Administration and Homeland Security Department for the Trusted Internet Connections initiative.