Weekly Roundup: December 9-13, 2024

Leadership

Leaders Shouldn’t Try to Do It All. Many leaders think they can get more done if they simply work harder and longer. But in due course they tire, their overall productivity falls, and they risk burning themselves out and exiting. In this article the authors, drawing on their own experience and that of CEOs they have advised, explain how to escape that trap.

The Questions Leaders Need to Be Asking Themselves. What makes a leader truly effective? Is it about strategic vision, time management, confidence? Robert Steven Kaplan says the best leaders are exceptionally good at asking tough questions so they can make the right decisions. He is the author of the book What to Ask the Person in the Mirror: Critical Questions for Becoming a More Effective Leader and Reaching Your Potential. He explains how to frame better questions to get the answers you need to make decisions. He also discusses how to use questions to clarify your key priorities and how to make sure you’re then spending your time in service of them.

AI and Innovation

How Gen AI and Analytical AI Differ — and When to Use Each. Organizations that have recently discovered generative AI are at risk of overlooking an older and better-established form of AI, which the authors call “analytical AI.” This form of AI is by no means obsolete and is still an important resource for the great majority of companies. While a few applications of AI employ both analytical and generative AI, the two AI approaches are largely separate. To make decisions about the relative importance and value of generative AI and analytical AI, organizations must first understand the differences between the two technologies, and the different benefits and risks associated with each.

ODNI Unveils new Open Source Data, AI Services Guidelines. The U.S. intelligence community (IC) has a new rulebook to guide its use of open-source data and publicly available information, including artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted services and generative AI (GenAI) tools. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) unveiled the  “Intelligence Community Standard”  (ICS) framework which outlines how intelligence agencies  can use “publicly available information, commercially available information and open source intelligence.” According to the ODNI, the ICS comes in response to the explosion of open-source data and reporting over the past decade, which has drastically expanded the intelligence landscape.

Pentagon to Prototype Deepfake Detection Tech. The Department of Defense (DoD) is investing $2.4 million over two years to prototype a deepfake detection capability with London-based smart home company Hive to counter the rising threat of synthetic media, the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU). Under the two-year contract, Hive will develop a capability to help the DoD address artificial intelligence (AI)-generated content with precision and speed. According to DIU, the deepfake detector technology will enable the department to prevent adversaries from using deepfakes “for their deception, fraud, disinformation and other malicious operations.”

Strategy in an Era of Abundant Expertise. The AI era is in its early stages, and the technology is evolving extremely quickly. Providers are rapidly introducing AI “copilots,” “bots,” and “assistants” into applications to augment employees’ workflows. These tools have been trained on a wide range of data sources and possess expansive expertise in many domains. Organizations that adopt AI will benefit from what the authors call the triple product: more-efficient operations, more-productive workforces, and growth with a sharper vision and focus.

HHS Putting People First in Human-Centered Design for Tribal Grants. Top Federal officials are calling for a “human-centered” approach to technology solutions and Federal grant funding, saying that techno-digital solutions aren’t always enough and that officials must consider other needs in the process.  Speaking at a GovExec event this week, officials said that while tech solutions are increasingly securing systems and enhancing the Federal customer service experience (CX) – underserved groups, including Tribal communities, are getting left behind.  

Quantum

DoE, NASA, DoD Eye Quantum Tech for Earth and Beyond. Federal agencies are exploring a range of practical quantum applications and are moving beyond theoretical research in those efforts.  Rima Oueid, the senior commercialization executive at the Energy Department’s Office of Technology Transitions, said that as agencies advance toward quantum applications, the Energy Department and NASA are exploring the technology not just for national security but also as a source of innovative solutions. One recent push in quantum technology includes a collaboration between the Energy Department, NASA, and the Department of Defense (DoD) to use quantum technology to create a “quantum-enabled space economy for the revitalization of Earth,” Oueid shared.

Technology Management

OMB releases federal tech impact report . The administration’s government tech policy shop released a new impact report on federal technology, highlighting work done on artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, modernization and digital service delivery over the last four years. Clare Martorana, federal chief information officer, says that she’s confident in continued work on federal technology moving forward into the administration of president-elect Donald Trump. “Technology is nonpartisan,” she told Nextgov/FCW. “We have a lot of technical debt in government. We’ve been focused on making sure that we’re buying down that debt where we can, that we are implementing services that meet the expectations and needs of the American public.”

Departing VA CIO DelBene Counsels ‘Big Bang’ Projects Don’t Work. As Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Chief Information Officer (CIO) Kurt DelBene prepares to head out before the Trump administration takes office, the CIO shared lessons learned on Thursday during his tenure from the agency’s IT modernization efforts – including that “big bang” modernizations don’t work.

DoD Advancing CJADC2 With Open DAGIR Work. After delivering a minimum viable capability for its data-centric command and control (C2) effort, the Department of Defense (DoD) is now focused on deploying enterprise enablers through its new Open Data and Applications Government-owned Interoperable Repositories (Open DAGIR) program, ensuring that this capability is accessible across combatant commands at the strategic level.

Acquisition

DoD Needs to Embrace Iterative Development for Acquisitions. The Department of Defense (DoD) faces challenges in acquisition speed and innovation, with some pathways lacking the iterative processes needed to accelerate weapons system development, according to a recent report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO). The GAO report said that while the DoD military departments follow the department’s adaptive acquisition framework, they don’t fully incorporate its leading practices of iterative development for urgent capability (UCA), middle tier (MTA), and major capability (MCA) acquisition pathways. Iterative processes involve continuous cycles of design, testing, feedback, and refinement to enable rapid adjustments based on user input and real-world performance, ensuring that product meet essential needs.

Fraud

House Report Boosts Pandemic UI Fraud Total to $191 Billion. The House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic has tallied up a total of $191 billion of fraudulent claims paid out through state unemployment insurance (UI) agencies to hackers and fraudsters – up from previous estimates that put the fraud figure closer to $100 billion. That was the headline number in the subcommittee’s 557-page report.

Efficiency

Former GAO Head: DOGE Could Save Hundreds of Billions. David Walker – who served as the seventh comptroller general of the United States and the head of the Government Accountability Office (GAO) from 1998 to 2008 – told members of Congress today that President-elect Donald Trump’s proposed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) advisory group could help to cut Federal government spending to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars per year.

Presidential Transition

Who has Trump picked to serve in his Cabinet? UPDATE – President-elect Donald Trump in recent days has made numerous announcements about who he would like to serve in his Cabinet and in other senior roles. Here’s list of his selections thus far. There also are links to our coverage regarding how these individuals plan to lead their agencies.

THIS WEEK @ THE CENTER 

RECENT BLOGS 

• Developing an AI Strategy within a Defense Intelligence Context by Michael J. Keegan. Insights from Ramesh Menon, Chief Technology Officer and Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer.  
• The Future of AI For the Public Sector: The Challenges and Solutions. by Katherine Barrett and Richard Greene. Insights from our “Ensuring Responsible AI for Society” Roundtable. The headlines are full of exciting news about the potential use of artificial intelligence in the public sector. States, localities and the federal government are all in the game, looking to use this technology to help grapple with streams of data and to help leaders make decisions.
• Nation-State Activity in the Age of Artificial Intelligence and Quantum Computing. Seldom has there been a simultaneous evolution of two powerful and complementary technologies—artificial intelligence (AI) and quantum computing (QC). Staying abreast of the evolving landscape and remaining vigilant will ensure that organizations protect against unintended consequences and take the right pathway into the future.

ICYMI – Leading the National Academy of Public Administration. This week Michael Keegan welcomed Terry Gerton, President and CEO, National Academy of Public Administration to reflect on the mission of the Academy, her time leading it, and the key initiatives it continues to pursue.