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Cost Estimating NewsBrief: September 1, 2023
OPM looking to take agencies’ data innovations governmentwide
(Federal News Network) After the Office of Personnel Management set data goals to reach over the next several years, the agency is looking for new ideas from other agencies to take to scale. OPM’s fiscal 2023-2026 data strategy, initially released in May, hinges on developing proficiencies in data and analytics skills for the federal workforce, as well as using data to improve employee satisfaction and customer experience. And while OPM houses data on talent acquisition, benefits, demographics and much more for the 2.1 million current federal employees, along with federal retirees and annuitants, a few of the agency’s resident data experts said they recognize they don’t have all the answers. Read More
No service can fight on its own: JADC2 demands move from self-sufficiency to interdependency
(Breaking Defense) In this Q&A with Lt. Gen. David A. Deptula, USAF (Ret.), dean of the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, and former deputy chief of staff for Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance for the US Air Force, we discuss the future of JADC2 under a new chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; the inadequacy of the current defense industrial base; why business standards imposed on the Department of Defense are hindering production; and why jointness is about using the right force in the right place at the right time — not every force, every place, all the time. Read More
Sandia National Labs Collaborates With Government, Industry to Expedite Tech Testing in Space
(Executive Gov) Sandia National Laboratories is working with NASA, the National Nuclear Security Administration and Voyager Space Holdings subsidiary NanoRacks on a new rapid testing approach for supercomputers and other national security space technologies. The project will use the International Space Station as a testing ground, hosting payloads carrying different technologies such as a high-performance computer installed on the NanoRacks External Platform, Sandia said Monday. The team began testing Sandia’s payload, LEONIDAS, which carries Advanced Micro Devices‘ Versal microchip designed for national security satellites. The demonstration is being done at the External Platform on the Japanese external module of ISS. Read More
Companies with innovative cultures have a big edge with generative AI
(McKinsey & Company) Self-writing, self-learning code, “no touch” decision making, and large language models. These and other promising applications of generative AI (gen AI) offer a transformative opportunity for companies. Indeed, the business world is abuzz with gen AI’s ability to create value by changing how work gets done across functions and workflows. But like any technology, generative AI is not a panacea. Most organizations struggle to capture the full value of their digital investments, and generative AI could play out the same way if leaders deploy it without priming their organizations to reap the benefits. Read More
U.S. Copyright Office launches study on the impacts of generative AI on copyright law
(FedScoop) The U.S. Copyright Office issued a notice of inquiry Wednesday in the Federal Register to gather public opinion on the copyright law and policy issues regarding generative AI. The Copyright Office claims that it will use this information to “analyze the current state of the law, identify unresolved issues and evaluate potential areas for congressional action,” according to the office’s website. The inquiry includes questions that the office has about generative AI but welcomes comments that are outside of those pertaining to the specific questions. Read More
Dead stars cast long shadows: WVU astronomer hunts for the glowing ghosts of supernovas
(Space Daily) A West Virginia University astronomer is searching the Milky Way for debris left behind by supernovas, the violent explosions that occur when massive stars die. After a supernova explosion, material that was part of the star expands outward, forming a shell or “remnant.” According to Loren Anderson, professor at the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences, studying supernova remnants is “essential for understanding the properties and dynamics of our galaxy – but there is a severe discrepancy in the number of supernova remnants we would expect to see compared to the relatively low number we have detected.” Read More
Brain signals transformed into speech through implants and AI
(Science Daily) Researchers have succeeded in transforming brain signals into audible speech. By decoding signals from the brain through a combination of implants and AI, they were able to predict the words people wanted to say with an accuracy of 92 to 100%. Researchers from Radboud University and the UMC Utrecht have succeeded in transforming brain signals into audible speech. By decoding signals from the brain through a combination of implants and AI, they were able to predict the words people wanted to say with an accuracy of 92 to 100%. Their findings are published in the Journal of Neural Engineering this month. Read More
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