Alka Patel has departed her role as head of artificial intelligence ethics policy at the Department of Defense's Joint Artificial Intelliigence Center (JAIC) after 20 months in the job.
“My efforts focused across workforce, acquisition, policy, and international dialogues, having a chance to work with industry, partners and allies,” Patel wrote in a LinkedIn post.
DOD appointed her to the position in early 2020 to help the JAIC implement department-wide “Responsible AI” initiatives with the goal to ensure that the Pentagon's AI-based systems comply with ethical standards.
She previously worked as research intern at the Montreal AI Ethics Institute and executive director of the PwC-sponsored Risk and Regulatory Services Innovation Center at Carnegie Mellon University.
In her farewell message, Patel noted that she will move from Washington, D.C., to her hometown of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Related Articles
Pete Hegseth, secretary of the Department of Defense and a 2025 Wash100 awardee, has issued a memorandum directing the secretary of the Army to establish the Joint Interagency Task Force 401, or JIATF 401, to accelerate the delivery of counter-small unmanned aircraft systems, or C-sUAS, to U.S. warfighters. DOD said Thursday JIATF 401 will report directly to the deputy secretary of defense and replace the Joint C-sUAS Office, or JCO. “We’re moving fast — cutting through bureaucracy, consolidating resources, and empowering this task force with the utmost authority to outpace our adversaries,” Hegseth said. Responsibilities of JIATF 401 & New
The Department of the Army has released its revised document on acquisition procedures. According to the department’s PAM 70-3 document posted Wednesday on the Army Publishing Directorate’s website, the major revision incorporates the Adaptive Acquisition Framework; replaces virtual in sight with the Acquisition Information Repository; eliminates a requirement to assess probability of success; and accounts for Army organizational changes implemented for U.S. Army Futures Command’s formation. The revised Army pamphlet also incorporates guidance from an Army directive, titled Enabling Modernization Through the Management of Intellectual Property, and adds semiannual program reporting requirements. Adaptive Acquisition Framework According to the pamphlet, the
The Government Accountability Office is urging the Department of the Treasury’s Chief Information Officer Sam Corcos to address 21 open recommendations related to improving IT management and strengthening federal cybersecurity. Key Recommendations for Treasury Department’s CIO In a new report, the congressional watchdog said the recommendations are related to areas that GAO has designated as high risk: ensuring the cybersecurity of the nation and improving IT acquisitions and management. One of the cybersecurity-related recommendations provided by GAO calls for the department to commit to a timeframe for the implementation of multifactor authentication across software-as-a-service. The report also pointed out that