Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) projects are progressing in the Federal civilian and military spheres, though agencies must overcome bureaucratic and funding obstacles that remain, experts said at Dell Technologies World 2024. During a panel discussion, Federal IT leaders at Dell Technologies expressed confidence that GenAI – and AI broadly – will enable the government to modernize operations and usher in a new era of innovation.
Dan Carroll, Federal field CTO at Dell Technologies, compared AI’s growing use among Federal agencies to a wave that “is building to … what I would call a tsunami of change.”
AI “is going to become almost as ubiquitous as how you’re using your cell phone,” Carroll said. “Twenty years ago, you would not have thought you’d be walking around with that thing everywhere and constantly being connected. AI will be impacting everything you do, every day, and the Federal government and the Department of Defense (DoD) are in same situation.”
The discussion came at a time of rising anticipation over AI’s potential to reshape Federal operations and service delivery. While about 80 percent of the government’s more than $100 billion budget for IT and cyber-related investments still goes to legacy system operation and maintenance, GenAI presents an opportunity to break from this model and invest in the future.
Already, Federal agencies are reporting about 1,200 current and planned AI use cases, and panel speakers noted that the Biden administration’s fiscal 2025 budget request contains about $3 billion in AI investments. That includes $32 million to lure AI experts from the private sector as part of an AI talent surge.
The proposed $32 million “really kind of goes against this scare-mongering that AI is going to take jobs,” Carroll said. “It’s not. AI is going to create jobs. You will not be replaced by AI. You will be replaced by someone using AI to do your job.”
On the Federal civilian side, about 700 AI projects are underway in areas such as process automation and content creation, said Surya Durvasula, Federal vice president for civilian agencies at Dell Technologies.
“It’s a lot of work … it really will make a huge impact,” said Durvasula, who cited the U.S. State Department’s growing use of AI and machine learning as an example, which includes helping overseas diplomats with language barriers and emergency response.
The DoD would receive $1.8 billion for AI under the 2025 budget, an amount that John Garrett, Federal vice president for DoD at Dell Technologies, characterized as “in our infancy of what we’re going to do around AI.”
Further investments are imperative, especially because some nations are “outspending us five to one,” he said.
Garrett predicted that the DoD would use AI for everything from targeting systems to helping human linguists translate masses of intercepted data. The U.S. Cyber Command, he said, “will be the biggest user of AI on the planet.”
Even as excitement about AI mounts, however, the experts said that obstacles to its full utilization remain, from funding and personnel gaps to policy uncertainty.
Jim Kelly, Federal senior vice president and general manager at Dell Technologies, said AI development remains at a “stop, start, continue” phase and encouraged panelists and the audience to discuss how AI use can be accelerated.
Durvasula expressed concern that the growing debate about Federal policies to regulate AI and ensure its safe and secure use could stifle innovation.
“Policy is important,” he said, “and governments should be thinking about how they can adopt an AI-first strategy, focusing on strong infrastructure development, while maintaining agile regulations that empower innovation and keep pace with AI advancements.”
GenAI presents particular challenges for organizations that don’t yet know how they want to utilize the technology, Carroll noted. He said the ongoing hiring of AI officers should help clarify GenAI missions.
Most importantly, the Dell Technologies experts urged Federal officials to dive into AI use cases to speed implementation, not slow down.
“In the Federal government, the stakes are high,” said Paul Perez, Federal technology senior fellow at Dell Technologies.
“It’s good to get on the train and get things going,” he said. “I think there are going to be a lot of trials, a lot of experimentation – and a lot of public-private partnerships.”