This summer, the Atlantic Council’s GeoTech Center published a new bipartisan report of Commission on the Geopolitical Impacts of New Technologies and Data (www.atlanticcouncil.org/geotechreport).

Dr. David Bray is the Inaugural Director of the new global GeoTech Center & Commission of the Atlantic Council, a nonprofit for international political, business, and intellectual leaders founded in 1961. Headquartered in Washington, DC, the Council offers programs related to international security and global economic prosperity. In previous leadership roles, Bray led the technology aspects of the Centers for Disease Control's bioterrorism preparedness program in response to 9/11, the outbreak response to the West Nile virus, SARS, monkey pox and other emergencies. He also spent time on the ground in Afghanistan in 2009 as a senior advisor to both military and humanitarian assistance efforts, serving as the non-partisan Executive Director for a bipartisan National Commission on R&D, and providing leadership as a non-partisan federal agency Senior Executive focused on digital modernization. He also is a Young Global Leader for 2017-2021 of the World Economic Forum. Bray is a member of multiple Boards of Directors and has worked with the U.S. Special Operations Command on counter-misinformation efforts. He was invited to give the 2019 UN Charter Keynote on the future of AI & IoT governance. His academic background includes a PhD from Emory University; he also has held affiliations with MIT, Harvard, and the University of Oxford. He recently took a few moments to speak to AI Trends Editor John P. Desmond about current events, including the geopolitics of the COVID-19 pandemic. AI Trends: Thank you David for talking to AI Trends today.

Cognitive technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) offers businesses an incredible opportunity to rethink traditional processes. By automating rote tasks and accelerating standard workflows, companies can free employees to pursue innovation in other capacities. But are AI and intelligent automation different than other enterprise technologies? Does AI's potential pose far more dramatic threats than previous technological innovations? Why are technologists and business leaders so excited and simultaneously apprehensive about a technology that, despite its creation in the 1950s, is still in its relative infancy?In this video, we speak with Fred Laluyaux, CEO and President of Aera Technology and David Bray, Executive Director of the People-Centered Internet, about these critical topics. During our conversation, we define some of the industry buzzwords and scientific terms that may still mystify the business world. We discuss the ways in which humans and machines should work in collaboration, both now and in a future that may give rise to machines that become responsible for many of the tasks humans handle today. We also examine how AI will revitalize current business technology including supply chain solutions, e-commerce platforms, and the still-nascent Internet of Things. To learn more about how, when, and why your business should jump into the world of AI and automation, be sure to watch this video. In it, you'll also find valuable advice from David and Fred on how to handle the ethical implications of AI adoption, and how you should treat your employees as AI becomes ubiquitous. The transcript below has been lightly edited for clarity and length. I'm delighted to speak with two gentlemen who will explain these concepts and what they mean for business. Fred, tell us briefly about Aera Technology. Fred Laluyaux: We build the technology that enables self-driving enterprise. I'll speak more about what it is, but it's fundamentally a cognitive operating system.

As artificial intelligence proliferates, companies and governments are aggregating enormous data sets to feed their AI initiatives. Although privacy is not a new concept in computing, the growth of aggregated data magnifies privacy challenges and leads to extreme ethical risks such as unintentionally building biased AI systems, among many others. Privacy and artificial intelligence are both complex topics. There are no easy or simple answers because solutions lie at the shifting and conflicted intersection of technology, commercial profit, public policy, and even individual and cultural attitudes. Given this complexity, I invited two brilliant people to share their thoughts in a CXOTALK conversation on privacy and AI.

For business people, AI presents a variety of challenges. On a technology level, artificial intelligence and machine learning is complicated to develop and demands rich data sets to produce meaningful results. From a business perspective, many business leaders have difficulty figuring out where to apply AI and even how to start the machine intelligence journey. Making matters worse, the constant drumbeat of AI hype from every technology vendor has created a continual barrage of noise confuses the market about the real possibilities of AI. To cut through this noise, I have invited many world-leading practitioners to share their expertise as part of the CXOTALK series of conversations with innovators.

Kay Firth-Butterfield: One of the things that stick out in my mind is some research that McKinsey did recently, where they describe AI as a contributing factor to the transformation of society. And I just want to quote what they're saying about the transformation of our society: that it's happening ten times faster, and at three hundred times the scale, or roughly three thousand times faster than the impact of the industrial revolution. And you know, a lot of people compare this revolution to the industrial revolution. But, I think it's the speed and the real, core underpinning that AI is contributing to that transformation of our society that makes these discussions so important. David Bray: It's not just about handing over judgment and decisions to a machine that a human would do otherwise.

Notes from Reality is a series of posts on AI and its impact on humans, what can be done today, and what may happen tomorrow. No one has all the answers, but we are trying to arrive at the right questions. In this post, I interviewed Dr. David Bray, Harvard Executive In-Residence and Eisenhower Fellow. This effort began with the post "Let the New Machine Age Begin." The process to write that led to another interview with Dr. Bray and Michael Krigsman, a noted analyst, which is posted here.

Will A.I. make our government smarter and more responsive – or is that the last step towards the end of privacy? As chief scientist of U.S. Government Accountability Office, Tim Persons conceives its vision for advanced data analytics. Learn about the promise and challenges around government A.I. and what those portend for private sector companies. Dr. David A. Bray began work in public service at age 15, later serving in the private sector before returning as IT Chief for the CDC's Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Program during 9/11; volunteering to deploy to Afghanistan to "think differently" on military and humanitarian issues; and serving as a Senior Executive advocating for increased information interoperability, cybersecurity, and civil liberty protections. He completed a PhD in from Emory University's business school and two post-docs at MIT and Harvard. He serves as a Visiting Executive In-Residence at Harvard University, a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and a Visiting Associate at the University of Oxford. He has received both the Arthur S, Flemming Award and Roger W. Jones Award for Executive Leadership. In 2016, Business Insider named him one of the top "24 Americans Who Are Changing the World". Dr. Timothy M. Persons is a member of the Senior Executive Service of the U.S. federal government and was appointed the Chief Scientist of the United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) in 2008. In addition to establishing the vision for advanced data analytic activities at GAO, he also serves to direct GAO's Center for Science, Technology, and Engineering (CSTE), a group of highly specialized scientists, engineers, and operations research staff. In these roles he directs science and technology (S&T) studies and is an expert advisor and chief consultant to the GAO, Congress, and other federal agencies and government programs on cutting-edge S&T, key highly-specialized complex systems, engineering policies and best practices, and original research studies in the fields of engineering, computer, and the physical and biological sciences to ensure strategic and effective use of S&T in the federal sector. Michael Krigsman: Welcome to Episode #216 of CxOTalk. I'm Michael Krigsman, I'm an industry analyst and the host of CxOTalk, where we bring truly amazing people together to talk about issues like the one we're talking about today, which is the role of AI and the impact on public policy; or maybe I should say, the impact of public policy on AI. Our guest today, we have two guests actually, are Tim Persons, who is the Chief Scientist of the General Accountability Office of the United States Government, and David Bray, who has been on CxOTalk many times, the Chief Information Officer of the Federal Communications Commission. And David, let's start with you. Maybe, just introduce yourself briefly.

Kay Firth-Butterfield: One of the things that stick out in my mind is some research that McKinsey did recently, where they describe AI as a contributing factor to the transformation of society. And I just want to quote what they're saying about the transformation of our society: that it's happening ten times faster, and at three hundred times the scale, or roughly three thousand times faster than the impact of the industrial revolution. And you know, a lot of people compare this revolution to the industrial revolution. But, I think it's the speed and the real, core underpinning that AI is contributing to that transformation of our society that makes these discussions so important. David Bray: It's not just about handing over judgment and decisions to a machine that a human would do otherwise.

DB: Imagine what the next 5 years will bring: The term "mobile computing" will eventually become a dated term, replaced by "ubiquitous computing" as the internet will be everywhere. These changes include the transportation we take on land, in the air, and at sea; the clothes and devices we wear, sensors at work, at home, in our environment, and (if we chose) in us for medical purposes as well. DB: Also right behind and coupled with the Internet of Everything: 3D mass fabricators enabling individuals to affordably "print" and modify at the molecular level tangible substances based on digital designs. Maker Faires around the world already exist showcasing the early stages of what 3D fabricators can do in the hands of artists, engineers, and hobbyists. As Co-Chair of the IEEE Committee focused on Artificial Intelligence and Innovative Policies, I firmly believe exponential changes like the era we're in offer great opportunities for society -- as well as great challenges.