The Pryon Government AI Forum, co-hosted by Pryon and Carahsoft, brought together government leaders and industry experts to explore the latest advancements in artificial intelligence and its transformative applications in the public sector. In an era marked by rapid technological progress, the forum highlighted the pressing need for government agencies to responsibly adopt AI solutions to enhance operations.  

Join us as we delve into the key insights from this event and uncover AI's revolutionary potential for enhancing national security and improving government workflows.

Embracing AI in Government and the Call for Industry Collaboration

Experts at the forum highlighted the critical importance of collaboration between government and industry leaders in accelerating the integration of AI across various government operations. AI can help agencies streamline workflows and develop innovative solutions to address national security challenges, improving public service delivery and operational efficiency to better serve constituents and stakeholders.

Hon. Ronald Moultrie, Former Under-Secretary of Defense (Intelligence & Security), highlighted the U.S. government's lag in AI adoption but expressed optimism for improvement with industry collaboration: "The government needs your help. We are behind… But we know that with the help of industry and with the help of private partnerships, we can stand in front of this problem."

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Practical Applications of AI in Government

At the forum, several practical applications of AI in government were explored, including:

• Enabling decision advantage: AI can provide defense and intelligence agencies with timely and accurate information, granting them a strategic edge.

• Automating document analysis: AI can quickly analyze large volumes of documents, extracting key information and summarizing content.

• Streamlining information delivery: AI can improve rapid information accessibility for military and civilians through user-friendly interfaces like self-service chatbots.

• Improving citizen services: AI can streamline processes that connect citizens with community resources and information, making government services more efficient and accessible.

Moultrie highlighted the importance of using AI to enable decision advantage, stating, "I want to gather information, I want to process that information, and I want to be able to disseminate that information to individuals who can make decisions. Then, we will have a decision advantage over our adversaries."

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Read the case study: DoD Streamlines Information Delivery for Military and Civilians with Pryon

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Joey Arora, Managing Partner at The Outpost, commented on AI's potential to enhance government effectiveness and foster stronger community trust: "Having more space for government to serve each individual citizen on a personal level is the core part of where we want to go. And government has the ability to do that now using generative AI tools."
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Read the case study: Learn How Pryon is Transforming Citizen Engagement for This U.S. City

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Ensuring Secure and Trustworthy AI: The Power of Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG)

Security is a top priority when implementing AI in government settings. Sensitive data must be protected, and AI systems must be designed to prevent unauthorized access and misuse. One approach to ensure government agencies can use AI solutions safely and securely is retrieval-augmented generation (RAG).  

A RAG framework is a type of AI model that generates outputs based on relevant information retrieved from a trusted database, making it less susceptible to generating false or biased outputs. This approach can help ensure secure and trustworthy use of AI in government operations.

‍Keith Howard, Director of Federal AI Solutions Engineering at Pryon, discussed the importance of source attribution and minimizing hallucinations in AI outputs by using a RAG framework: "You want to use a RAG system when you're really concerned about source attribution, you want highly factual queries, and you want to minimize hallucinations."

‍Shane Shaneman, Senior AI Strategist - US Public Sector, NVIDIA, also highlighted the value of RAG in retrieving real-time updates from authoritative content, noting, "If you look at the amount of data that the federal government and agencies have collected over the last two to three decades, there are tremendous insights and correlations that exist. And the amount of data that's being added on a daily basis continues to increase. Being able to make use of not only the data that's been collected but also the data being collected in real time is key."

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"I want to gather information, I want to process that information, and I want to be able to disseminate that information to individuals who can make decisions. Then, we will have a decision advantage over our adversaries." - Hon. Ronald Moultrie

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Addressing Ethical and Responsible AI Use

Responsible AI use is a recurring theme in discussions around government AI adoption. Experts at the forum emphasized the need for ethical considerations, transparent algorithms, and measures to address bias in AI systems. Jason Zhou, VP of Customer at Pryon, pointed out the importance of understanding the data that informs AI models, stating, "We have to be very, very cognizant of what is the data that we're putting into these models."

On the topic of generative AI outputs, Arora added, "There's also going to be a push and demand to say, how do we trust these conversations? And I think this has to be a push from the top down."

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Government AI Acquisition and Implementation Strategies

Effective AI acquisition and implementation are critical for maximizing the benefits of AI in government and enterprise settings. Bonnie Evangelista, Acting Deputy Chief Digital and AI Officer for Acquisitions, US Department of Defense (DoD), spoke about the importance of focusing on problem statements that can open up diverse solution sets for departments: "We believed that there are more solutions out there than problems in the department, and all we had to do was close the gap between the buyer and the seller."

The panel highlighted strategies and tips for streamlining the acquisition and implementation of AI solutions in government, including:

• Identifying specific use cases: Rather than adopting AI for its own sake, organizations should identify specific problems that AI can solve.

• Selecting pre-vetted solutions from a government IT marketplace: Evangelista describes the Tradewinds Solution Marketplace as "an accelerated assessment and competition process by which a government buyer can get to [their] solution faster."

• Securing early buy-in: Engage members of the acquisition steering group from the outset to collaboratively navigate the acquisition process, rather than waiting until the last minute to request their input on paperwork.

• Starting with a pilot: Accelerate implementation timelines by beginning with a pilot or experimentation phase. If the pilot proves successful, proceed to the production or scaling stage.

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The Future of AI in Government

Looking ahead, AI is expected to play an increasingly vital role in government operations. Moultrie discussed the potential of AI to provide a decision advantage over adversaries, enhancing the ability to gather, process, and disseminate information efficiently. He expressed excitement about AI's potential, stating, "It’s an exciting time for the United States of America. It's an exciting time for the world. We just have to harness it the right way."

To stay engaged in this evolving conversation and learn more about the latest advancements in AI for government, watch the on-demand recording of the Pryon Gov AI Forum.

Want to learn more about unlocking the value of AI for your government agency while ensuring accuracy and security? Download our guide: Generative AI for Federal Government.