cognitive

Recently, President Obama spoke at the South by Southwest Conference (SXSW).  “We are at a moment in history where technology, globalization, and our economy is changing so fast,” he said. “Those changes offer us enormous opportunities but also are very disruptive and unsettling. They empower individuals to do things that they could have never dreamed of before, but they also empower folks who are very dangerous to spread dangerous messages.” Then he gave his pitch.  “So the reason I’m here really is to recruit all of you.”  Why is disruptive innovation on the president’s agenda?

This blog was written by our guest blogger: Chris Trainor

Major Jim Markham is an operations research / systems analyst in the Army.  He is currently serving as a Research Fellow in the Training with Industry program, during which he works with IBM for one year before returning to the Army, including time with the Center for The Business of Government. His fellowship is intended to help him learn how industry applies big data and analytics to healthcare challenges in order to take this knowledge back to the Army.

Background:

We are pleased to announce our latest round of awards for new reports on key public sector challenges, which respond to priorities identified in the Center's research agenda. Our content is intended to stimulate and accelerate the production of practical research that benefits public sector leaders and managers.

We expect the following reports to be published later in 2017.  Short summaries of each report follow:

AI is an umbrella term that encompasses a variety of capabilities that allow a computer system to perform tasks normally done by humans. Many people are also familiar with the term Cognitive Computing. Cognitive leverages several AI components, such as Machine Learning, to understand, reason, and learn much like the human brain. Cognitive complements Artificial Intelligence, enabling computers to both think like humans and understand how humans think. Current AI systems and subsystems are able to learn, make decisions, and solve complex problems.

Cognitive Category Management (CCM) has the potential to drive $340 billion in value for the federal government. Category Management has been a proven capability for leading commercial companies to unlock significant ongoing savings. However, the complexity and autonomy of federal agencies present challenges that have limited the federal government from taking advantage of these proven practices. Recent advances in cognitive tools and digital services help bridge these challenges by offering insights into unstructured data and simplifying the process for government.

In my previous blog post, I discussed category management, cognitive, and how these two tools can be used to provide value in the federal government. By reviewing best practices in the private sector as well as initial pilots in the federal government, transformation is possible. 

Greg Greben, Vice President and Client Group Leader, Federal Civilian & Healthcare Agencies, IBM Global Business Services, authored this article

Greg Greben, Vice President and Client Group Leader, Federal Civilian & Healthcare Agencies, IBM Global Business Services, authored this article.

Last week's blog defined fraud, waste, and abuse (FWA), described many successful FWA federal programs, and outlined some of the costs associated with FWA. This continuation will address government challenges; define cognitive counter-fraud, waste, abuse; and discuss next steps.