Left to right: BSA Senior Director, IT Modernization and Procurement Jessica Salmoiraghi, Palo Alto Networks Director, Public Policy & Government Affairs Rob Cooper, SAP Senior Director, US Government Affairs and Deputy Head of the SAP Washington Office U.S. Government Affairs Pamela Richardson Walker, and Workday Head of US Public Policy John Sampson.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is poised to improve various public services, speakers from BSA | The Software Alliance member companies told Capitol Hill staff during a briefing focused on AI and government this week.
“There’s hardly a function of government that won’t be enhanced in some way by AI,” John Sampson, Head of US Public Policy at Workday, said at the briefing, which was organized by BSA and the Digital Transformation Network (DTN). “I would encourage you to encourage departments and agencies to embrace AI, experiment with it, and learn from it,” he added.
BSA organized the briefing to call attention to the new DTN report published this week, “AI Beyond Business: Improving Governments and Governance,” which outlines how commercial AI solutions are improving citizens’ lives at the local, regional, and national government levels.
Jessica Salmoiraghi, Senior Director of IT Modernization and Procurement at BSA, led the discussion alongside leaders from BSA member companies. In addition to Sampson, speakers included Rob Cooper, Director of Public Policy and Government Affairs at Palo Alto Networks; and Pamela Richardson Walker, Senior Director of US Government Affairs and Deputy Head of the Washington Office at SAP.
The ability to enhance software with AI capabilities can only be achieved with through IT modernization that install modern cloud systems as a prerequisite for using AI tools, which Salmoiraghi focused on in the discussion.
“I want to talk about the need for IT modernization and how … there are some table stakes that need to be set for the government to be able to take advantage of AI,” Salmoiraghi said.
The briefing further showcased how AI tools are improving the customer experience and enhancing cybersecurity by using machine learning to identify and respond to malicious actors. These capabilities, the speakers said, are dependent on the adoption of cloud systems and moving away from on-premises computing.
“You can’t necessarily get to artificial intelligence without moving to the cloud, and with the agencies running so many legacy systems, this is a prime opportunity to modernize and move your services to the cloud and take advantage of all the AI capabilities that the different companies offer,” Walker said. “Artificial intelligence and the cloud go hand-in-hand together.”
According to Cooper, an important consideration for the policymaking audience in attendance is ensuring that the modernization of government IT systems keeps pace with the acceleration of AI technologies.
“The procurement cycle just does not keep pace with the need for the most cutting-edge, modern technology to power government operations,” Cooper explained. “We need to try to find ways to fix that to get this technology in the hands of government.”
Speakers at the briefing encouraged Congress to embrace AI by experimenting with generative AI capabilities, experiencing the technology in action by engaging with companies and visiting their facilities, and ultimately ensuring regulation takes a risk-based approach.
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