All About Data

Kirsten Moncada, OPM’s chief privacy officer, says the rise of AI tools will create more work for privacy officials across the government.

The Agriculture Department is on a mission to make its workforce more data savvy. That’s a key focus of its Data Science Training Program and its new department-wide data strategy. For more, we hear from USDA’s Deputy Chief Data Officer Fredy Diaz and the CDO for the Food and Nutrition Service Chris Rottler.

Commerce Chief Data Officer Oliver Wise says the department expects to release the strategy in fall 2024, which will focus on five “cross-bureau” priority areas for data maturity.

NASA's Artemis mission will bring U.S. astronauts back to the moon's surface more than 50 years after its last trip, the 1972 Apollo 17 mission. The agency expects a crewed moon landing mission will occur in 2025. NASA Chief Data Officer David Salvagnini said the Artemis mission depends on the agency's wealth of scientific data — including data from the Apollo missions more than a half-century ago.

Here's an excerpt from a Federal News Network-moderated panel at the Data Foundation’s govDatax Summit. You'll hear from Oliver Wise, chief data officer at the Commerce Department and Eileen Vidrine, the chief data and AI Officer at the Department of the Air Force.

Agency leaders outline the challenges and opportunities of AI. Department of Homeland Security's Undersecretary for Policy Rob Silvers says DHS IS looking to become one of the “early and aggressive adopters” of AI tools. Col. John Agnello, the director of information advantage, for the Army’s Cyber Center of Excellence says the service is looking at the potential of AI to make critical decisions “better, faster, cheaper.”

This episode features a Federal News Network-moderated panel at AFCEA NOVA’s Navy IT Day earlier this month. We hear from Deputy Data Officer at the Office of Chief of Naval Operations Nathan Hagan and Acting Department of the Navy Chief Data Officer Duncan McCaskill.

Gil Alterovitz, director of the VA’s National Artificial Intelligence Institute (NAII) highlights some of the key takeaways from the VA's recent summit on AI in health care.

The Postal Regulatory Commission plans to build up its data capabilities. But it’s not getting everything it asked for in its fiscal 2024 budget request, now that the Postal Service approves its budget, not Congress. Here to tell his side of the story is the Postal Regulatory Commission’s Chairman Michael Kubayanda. "One of my particular goals, through the budget process, is for better technology and data infrastructure. I think in the long run, that'll make us more efficient as a micro-agency," Kubayanda said.

Eric Stein, the State Department’s deputy assistant secretary for the Office of Global Information, is looking at ways to use emerging technology to improve FOIA processing governmentwide