Federal IT leaders want to make it easier for agencies to incorporate artificial intelligence such as chatbots and image and code generators into daily workflows, as well as compliance tools that help protect sensitive data and users’ personal information.
Both the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program, or FedRAMP, and the Office of Management and Budget have issued guidance in recent weeks on steps the government can take, or has already taken, to accelerate adoption of these capabilities. Is.
FedRAMP released draft guidance on January 26 establishing a framework for prioritizing emerging technologies. Specifically, FedRAMP hopes to expedite approvals for AI applications in three areas: chat interfaces, code generators and debugging tools, and image generators.
“It’s amazing that they’re getting ahead of it,” says Sean Frazier, federal chief security officer for identity and access management company Okta. “These are all positive things. You can always think that the government is not moving fast enough, because many people think it is not, but this is an example where people are trying.
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Federal spending on artificial intelligence is increasing.
OMB announced a policy on March 28 that calls on IT leaders to take a series of steps, including requiring agencies to designate chief AI officers and increase transparency in how the government is using AI. calls for extensive measures to increase
The move comes in response to President Joe Biden’s October 2023 executive order on AI, which sets out an immediate and government-wide approach to coordinate adoption of the technology.
Agencies are already moving fast.
According to the 2023 AI Index report from Stanford University’s Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence, the government spent more than $3.3 billion on AI in fiscal year 2022. That’s nearly $600 million more than a year ago.
In addition, according to Okta’s 2024 “Business at Work” report, “the government sector stands out for increasing app deployment across multiple categories at a higher-than-average rate.”
In particular, the company found, compliance tools were among the most popular new applications in 2023. Okta noted a 120 percent year-over-year increase in organizations deploying data compliance tools over the past two years.
Using AI to handle log data
The report notes that “organizations must navigate an increasingly complex and ever-changing regulatory landscape.” We also see a potential connection to the widespread deployment of automation and AI tools, which generate large amounts of data do.”
Frazier says agency IT teams are drowning in log data that shows which users accessed which apps and which information.
Discovery: Data preparation is essential for effective AI deployment.
Frazier says that with emerging technologies, officials can use AI to help determine which pieces of data users can access based on their classification level. And it should be achieved.
“This is one area where AI can help immensely,” he says. “What happens if someone comes on board, I deliver all those requests, they leave, and those requests are still delivered? I don’t know they’re there, but the threat actors know. That they are there and taking advantage of it.