Office of Personnel Management Chief Data Officer and Acting Chief AI Officer Taka Ariga provided an inside look at the agency’s innovative use of artificial intelligence. OPM is navigating the potential for AI in use cases such as general productivity tools and bespoke solutions tailored for federal workforce needs. Ariga highlighted the importance of data integrity and trust, the careful alignment of people, processes and technology, and the pivotal role AI plays in modernizing government operations. The interview also highlighted OPM’s efforts to grow the federal cybersecurity workforce and showcased how AI is shaping recruitment and training strategies. Additionally, Ariga shared how storytelling is helping simplify complex concepts like data governance to build trust and understanding across the agency.

Data security and customer experience are top priorities for Jennifer Wendel, the newly confirmed permanent CIO at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

Wendel emphasized the agency's commitment to implementing special cybersecurity measures and strengthening incident response processes to safeguard patient data from malicious actors.

Wendel highlighted some of her other key priorities from HHS’ 2022-2026 Strategic Plan. This includes improvements to grants.gov by introducing new tools designed to make accessing health services faster and more efficient.

Wendel is also driving initiatives to upskill the HHS workforce, equipping employees with essential expertise in cybersecurity, data management and cloud technologies to meet evolving challenges.

The first season of AI GovCast brought listeners the voices at the forefront of government's AI revolution.

We heard from State Dept. Chief AI Officer (CAIO) Matthew Graviss on how his agency is driving ethical and responsible use of AI in diplomacy, hiring AI professionals and integrating better data practices in AI implementation. Department of Labor CAIO Mangala Kuppa explained the principles around AI that the agency is adhering to while developing and adopting the emerging technology.

Coming Jan. 14, season two will dive deeper into AI governance, use cases and implementation.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Cyber Integration Center (CCIC) is the hub of cybersecurity strategy and response at the agency. The collaborative center focuses on internal assessments to protect sensitive patient data and improve threat detection.

Acting CISO Keith Busby explained how CCIC red, blue and purple security engagements teams are conducting Penetration Testing (PenTesting) to monitor the agency’s critical infrastructure and prevent malicious actors from causing devastating cyber attacks.

Busby shared details about the agency’s Risk Management Strategy, which uses secret scanning and other enterprise level technologies to mitigate risks. He also highlighted the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) cyber performance goals agencies should be prioritizing to boost their resiliency.

Federal agencies are making significant strides in revolutionizing data access and records management by adopting new technologies, improving processes and fostering greater transparency.

The Library of Congress and National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) are revolutionizing access to their vast amounts of historical records and born-digital content. The organizations are taking innovative approaches to digitization, metadata management and leveraging cutting-edge technologies like AI and machine learning to enhance discoverability and accessibility.

Natalie Buda Smith, director of digital strategy at the Library of Congress, and Jill Reilly, digital engagement director at NARA, dive into the challenges of preserving and providing access to digital-native materials, from obsolete formats to emulation strategies.

Department of Homeland Security AI Corps Director Michael Boyce runs the largest civilian AI hiring effort in the federal government. The new service is modeled after the White House’s U.S. Digital Service that embeds experts at agencies to tackle critical tech projects — in this case embedding AI across the agency’s critical mission areas.

On this AI GovCast miniseries, Boyce discusses his journey to the agency with his prior roles at the Office of Management and Budget. He breaks down how he envisions the growth of the AI Corps, how it ties into the department’s goal of serving as a model to the rest of government around AI development and some of the unique considerations he faces around upskilling the workforce and developing guardrails around responsible use of AI.

In the final episode of our Storytelling Miniseries, we discuss building meaningful relationships through storytelling. Department of House and Urban Development’s Director of Business Operations and Technology Sarah Moffatt, Program Manager at the Department of Energy’s Office of Sustainable Environmental Stewardship Cate Berard and IBM’s U.S. Federal Civilian Agency Business Development Leader Lauren Craig discussed why building connections is so crucial in storytelling and how the relationships you create can have a lasting impact on your career.

They also shared tips on how to ask better questions, practice active listening and pace the flow of information to avoid overwhelming your audience. The leaders discussed how these practical tools can help federal leaders grow their careers.

Customs and Border Protection CTO Sunil Madhugiri discussed how the agency is using artificial intelligence at the nation’s borders to sift through mountains of data more quickly.

Artificial intelligence and large language models are not new to CBP. The agency has been developing the technology for its use in its missions including detecting suspicious items and packages at border entries and ports.

Madhugiri discussed CBP’s infrastructure it created for this tech and how it plans to adopt it without further burdening employees and officers working at ports and borders nationwide.

The Department of the Navy is leading the charge in innovation, speeding up the federal acquisition process to improve tech adoption and remain competitive in the evolving tech landscape.

Acting CTO Justin Fanelli joined us at AWS re:Invent to highlight how the two new designated enterprise services in its COSMOS zero-trust computing platform and the Naval Enterprise Service Desk (NESD) are moving the Navy toward more shared services. He also discussed the newly launched Innovation Adoption Kit, a powerful new resource to help Program Executive Offices (PEOs) speed up procurement and collaborate with an ever-expanding vendor ecosystem.

Specifically, he walked through the 15 “plays” in the kit, including using outcome metrics and structured piloting, and explained how the Navy is tackling some of the toughest challenges in adopting cutting-edge technologies.

He also discussed the Navy’s Flank Speed initiative, a cloud-based collaboration tool, recently completed all 91 target zero trust activities three years ahead of the Defense Department’s deadline. He explained the strategies and innovations that made this milestone possible and how Flank Speed is setting the standard for scaling zero trust outcomes across the Navy — and potentially across the entire federal government.

Cutting-edge technology is transforming health care, with solutions like artificial intelligence helping agencies like the National Cancer Institute (NCI) improve screening, diagnosis and treatment.

During AWS re:Invent in Las Vegas, Nevada, NCI CIO Jeff Shilling discussed the critical role of data standardization backing AI initiatives and how he is thinking about ethical concerns like bias, data privacy and risk management to ensure AI is both effective and responsible.

He highlighted the importance of regulating AI in the medical field and how its future might require practices like data certification.

Tune in to learn how the agency is working to overcome challenges related to data management and security while staying aligned with organizational priorities.