The Department of Energy established the Artificial Intelligence Advancement Council earlier this month to coordinate funding and development of algorithms and hold agencies accountable for how they are used. A lean team consisting of five members, AIAC will quickly approve task forces, implementation plans and organizational changes for the AI & Technology Office, DOE Executive Secretariat, and AI Program Committee to execute. DOE stood up the Responsible and Trustworthy AI Task Force ahead of AIAC's first meeting, tentatively planned for June, to suggest departmental principles and practices, particularly around equity and ethics. "We are very mindful of the fact that there are activities and initiatives that are underway, as well as initiatives that should be considered, in AI space," AITO Director Pamela Isom told FedScoop. "And we're also needing the support at the level that the council brings."

Officials within the Department of Energy are looking to apply practical uses of artificial intelligence technology to helping underserved communities. Speaking during a FedScoop discussion panel, Pamela Isom, the director of the Artificial Intelligence and Technology Office at Energy, explained the importance of using AI technology to strategically help, as it becomes more and more ubiquitous in daily life. Some current use cases for AI tech within Energy are automated loan and application processing. Ipsom elaborated that her office's mission to ensure equitable access to AI technology came from a community discussion where gaps in adequate technological infrastructure were highlighted. "Today, we're looking at AI for instance, to not only help with procurement cycles, but with processing and evaluating [requests for information] for instance," Isom said.

Officials within the Department of Energy are looking to apply practical uses of artificial intelligence technology to helping underserved communities. Speaking during a FedScoop discussion panel, Pamela Isom, the director of the Artificial Intelligence and Technology Office at Energy, explained the importance of using AI technology to strategically help, as it becomes more and more ubiquitous in daily life. Some current use cases for AI tech within Energy are automated loan and application processing. Ipsom elaborated that her office's mission to ensure equitable access to AI technology came from a community discussion where gaps in adequate technological infrastructure were highlighted. "Today, we're looking at AI for instance, to not only help with procurement cycles, but with processing and evaluating [requests for information] for instance," Isom said.

Advancing trustworthy AI and machine learning to mitigate agency risk is a priority for the US Department of Energy (DOE), and identifying best practices for implementing AI at scale is a priority for the US General Services Administration (GSA). That's what attendees learned in two sessions at the AI World Government live and virtual event held in Alexandria, Va. last week. Pamela Isom, Director of the AI and Technology Office at the DOE, who spoke on Advancing Trustworthy AI and ML Techniques for Mitigating Agency Risks, has been involved in proliferating the use of AI across the agency for several years. With an emphasis on applied AI and data science, she oversees risk mitigation policies and standards and has been involved with applying AI to save lives, fight fraud, and strengthen the cybersecurity infrastructure. She emphasized the need for the AI project effort to be part of a strategic portfolio.