The Veterans Affairs Department's nascent National Artificial Intelligence Institute is focusing on hammering out policies and streamlining its processes so it can share data with partners in a speedy way. After its initial launch late last year, the agency's inaugural artificial intelligence director and lead of the center Dr. Gil Alterovitz shared few details with Nextgov about its ultimate aims, but at an event in Washington Wednesday, he expanded on the center's early intentions and efforts. "We are at that time in history where human intelligence at some point will intersect with artificial intelligence," Alterovitz said at the ACT-IAC's second intelligent automation and AI forum. "And so it's a really special time for us to learn about it." The AI director said the intersection between human intelligence and specific areas where computational artificial intelligence will meet is inching closer to reality by the day.

Healthcare organizations across the country are beginning to cash in on early efforts in artificial intelligence and data visualization. First reports on initial efforts to use these advanced technologies show tantalizing potential. Indeed, these clinical applications of AI and data visualization are where most healthcare organizations are concentrating early efforts in using this advanced assistive and predictive technology, according to results of a recent poll of Health Data Management readers. More than half (53 percent) of respondents to the survey say their organizations are using these advanced analytic technologies to improve clinical decision making. That's far and away the leading use of this information technology, but a range of other applications are being implemented, respondents say.