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(North Dakota Monitor) – As Congress continues its investigation into the role AI should play in government, members of the House Oversight Committee are questioning the uses and procurement of AI tools for government work, as well as the privacy concerns the technology poses when unregulated.
Expert witnesses testified at a hearing that the federal government is currently using AI in some capacities, but several factors, such as the government’s outdated technology systems and data practices, could keep federal workers from using the technology to its full potential. They also said the government’s current procurement practices for AI technology slow its adoption, which risks other countries taking the lead in the global AI race.
“The question before us is not whether the federal government should adopt AI, it’s whether we will lead or follow,” Bhavin Shah, founder and CEO of Moveworks, an AI company that contracts with both private companies and local governments.
Many federal departments are using AI that has been approved under the current procurement standards, like The Department of Health and Human Services, which uses AI in medical research and tracking disease outbreaks, and the Department of Veterans Affairs, which uses AI to help analyze medical records and data to predict risk-related incidents of suicide.