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Cost Estimating NewsBrief: June 28, 2024
DHS aims to boost cyber ranks by streamlining clearance approvals
(CyberScoop) The Department of Homeland Security is “actively looking to streamline” the process for determining which of its cybersecurity jobs need clearances, the agency’s chief information officer said during a House hearing Wednesday. In response to questioning from House Homeland Security Committee ranking member Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., about how the federal government’s “cumbersome hiring process” has “undermined its ability to recruit cyber talent,” Eric Hysen testified that DHS is pursuing a multipronged approach to mitigate the problem, including through its Cybersecurity Talent Management System and by assessing clearance protocols. Read More
DHS hires initial cohort of 10 to join its AI Corps
(NextGov) The Department of Homeland Security announced on Tuesday that it has recruited the first 10 artificial intelligence experts for its AI Corps, a hiring sprint the department launched in February to better leverage emerging technologies across its operations. DHS is planning to hire a total of 50 experts this year for the AI Corps, which is modeled on the White House’s U.S. Digital Service. Experts within that unit are deployed to various federal agencies to help them with technology initiatives. The AI Corps follows that same approach but across DHS. Read More
DHS cyber hiring program got off on the wrong foot, CIO says, but progress is showing
(Government Executive) A top tech official at the Homeland Security Department acknowledged to Congress today that a special hiring program could have been put to better advantage at a time when the department — and government writ large — is struggling to attract cybersecurity talent. The Cybersecurity Talent Management System, authorized by Congress in 2014 and launched by DHS in 2021, has so far resulted in 345 job offers and 189 employees currently working in the Office of the Chief Information Officer at DHS, as well as at the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. Read More
Energy releases generative AI guidance for employees, contractors
(FedScoop) Employees and contractors at the Department of Energy now have a new reference guide to help them navigate use of generative AI tools at the agency, including best practices and a note that ChatGPT is available for use by request. That 61-page document was published and distributed on DOE’s internal network on June 14, a DOE spokesperson told FedScoop. The detailed reference guide constitutes the first such document on generative AI that the department has shared publicly, and while the guidance isn’t considered a formal policy, it provides a window into how the DOE is thinking about the technology. Read More
J.D. Smith: DOD Study Shows AI, Machine Learning Can Use ‘Contextual Understanding’ to Declassify Records
(ExecutiveGov) J.D. Smith, chief of the records and declassification division at the Department of Defense’s Washington Headquarters Services, said a DOD research study validated a proof of concept that demonstrates the capability of artificial intelligence and machine learning models to manage and declassify records using “contextual understanding,” Federal News Network reported Monday. “The big breakthrough here is the mapping of business rules to contextual understanding models,” Smith said at an event Monday. Read More
DCSA has a new roadmap for delayed background investigation IT system
(Federal News Network) The Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency has sketched out an 18-month roadmap to get the National Background Investigation Services IT system back on track, with the new DCSA director calling the delays “unacceptable.” In congressional testimony Wednesday, DCSA Director David Cattler said the Defense Department this spring initiated a 90-day recovery plan for the NBIS program, which is charged with delivering new IT capabilities to support the background investigation mission. Cattler took over as director of DCSA in March. He has said addressing NBIS delays is one of his top priorities. Read More
NASA appears to step back from the term ‘artificial general intelligence’
(FedScoop) The terminology NASA once used to refer to artificial general intelligence has changed, the space agency said in response to questions from FedScoop about emails obtained through a public records request, signaling the ways that science-focused federal agencies might be discussing emerging technologies in the age of generative AI. Building artificial general intelligence — a powerful form of AI that could theoretically rival humans — is still a distant goal, but remains a key objective of companies like OpenAI and Meta. Read More
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