Ariel Gold, a senior adviser at the Department of Transportation, said DOT is working on a framework to apply  artificial intelligence in transport operations.

In an interview aired Thursday on Government Matters, Gold said the department aims to safely integrate AI into the U.S. transportation system and implement the technology to transform organizational processes.

“We are not inventing the AI, we’re not developing it,” she said. “We are in a policy and technical assistance type role to make sure that life-saving technology gets out there safely and efficiently.”

She noted another focus area will involve using AI to simplify internal procedures, research initiatives and customer service delivery. According to her, DOT seeks to deploy machine learning algorithms for initiatives such as longitudinal research that require processing of large amounts of video from naturalistic driving studies.

Gold added she believes AI can help personnel to extract value from the department’s data inventory and inform best practices for simplifying functions.

The National Science Foundation partnered with DOT and several other federal departments to establish the National Artificial Intelligence Research Institutes program.