NASA Chief AI Officer on the Federal Executive Forum: How Agencies Are Strategizing About AI

Listen to Chief AI Officer Dave Salvagnini represent NASA in a Federal Executive Forum webinar on “Artificial Intelligence Strategies in Government Progress and Best Practices 2024.”

I see an acceptance of AI as the digital assistant, that capability that is going to enable every member of the workforce to be more effective with their time.

Dave Salvagnini

NASA Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer, and Chief Data Officer

Featuring Chief AI Officers and technology experts at the IRS, Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, Red Hat, Deloitte, and Pure Storage, this discussion covers current AI use cases across the private and public sectors. Artificial intelligence, particularly GenAI, is changing landscapes ranging from medicine to tax systems to aeronautics. The webinar covers AI use cases for medical devices, tax amendments, and more, including a segment on how NASA is using AI capabilities for earth sciences, climate modeling, and deep space exploration. Although NASA has a long history with AI, Salvagnini notes, GenAI is changing the way we view and use these technologies. How do we equip the workforce to democratized, accessible AI capabilities, and what policies should we create to mitigate potential risks like bias, inaccuracies, and copyright issues?

The webinar participants voice similar AI priorities in the coming year: building infrastructure to use these technologies at scale, equipping the workforce with training and resources, delivering AI capabilities that increase efficiencies, and establishing governance and risk management policies. The episode ends with a discussion of the near future, with each technology leader outlining their agency’s expected output and accomplishments regarding AI. At NASA, Salvagnini expects a perspective shift toward AI in our daily work. “I see an acceptance of AI as the digital assistant, that capability that is going to enable every member of the workforce to be more effective with their time.”