The Fed Mission Success Round Up: NIST Cuts and AI; Better Acquisition Data; and New U.S. CTO
Welcome to the Fed Mission Success News Round Up brought to you by Makpar. Each week, we will provide a summary of actionable news and insights to help aid in overall mission success for Federal agency IT decision-makers and influencers.
NIST Cuts Would Put U.S. Behind AI Eightball, Tech Groups Warn Commerce Secretary
U.S. leadership in artificial intelligence would be compromised by cuts to the National Institute of Standards and Technology, top tech trade associations warned in a letter recently sent to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, according to FedScoop.
Better Data, not a Review, New Systems will Fix Acquisition
President Donald Trump is charging DOGE and agencies to look at contracting processes, procedures and the systems that support those efforts by late March, but better data is needed to fix acquisition, according to Federal News Network.
Pentagon Aims to Accelerate Acquisition of New Tech Through Software-Contracting Change
The Pentagon must default to rapid acquisition processes when buying software, from business systems to weapons components, the defense secretary said in a recent memo, as highlighted by NextGov.
OpenAI Anticipates Rapid Data Center Scaling Thanks to Trump
OpenAI expects that President Donald Trump’s policies are going to aid the artificial intelligence software company by helping build out new data centers, according to one company leader, according to NextGov.
Former Trump Tech Policy Adviser Ethan Klein Tapped for U.S. CTO
Ethan Klein, an emerging technology policy adviser during the first Trump administration, has been nominated to be the White House’s chief technology officer, the Office of Science and Technology Policy confirmed last week, according to FedScoop.
Trump Taps Sean Plankey to Head CISA
Last week, President Donald Trump nominated Sean Plankey to head the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. He previously served as principal deputy assistant secretary for the Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security and Emergency Response at the Department of Energy.