bdpatoday® | Artificial Intelligence

Octo Holds Grand Opening of oLabs™ Innovation Hub

Octo celebrated its expanded oLabs™ innovation space with a grand opening attended by Senator Mark Warner and other notable VIPs committed to serving the Federal Government.

RESTON, VA—Octo, the premier provider of emerging technology and modernization for the Federal Government, yesterday celebrated the grand opening of its new oLabs™ innovation hub. Housed in a brand new, custom-built 14,000 square foot facility at Octo’s headquarters in Reston, Virginia, oLabs is the largest privately-owned R&D facility in the DC metro area dedicated to the Federal Government.

Octo invested more than $10 million in the expansion of oLabs which now offers an enormous amount of highly sophisticated compute power including more than 15 petaflops of AI compute and 2 petabytes of FlashBlade storage among others. In addition to the many new development tools for specialized R&D and a space purpose built to facilitate collaboration between Octo’s staff and its federal customers, oLabs will be a hub for internal collaboration and product development focused on solving federal agencies’ most complex issues.

In his comments to attendees, U.S. Senator Mark Warner said, “Innovation isn’t all happening in the Valley. It’s happening in the DMV.” He said he was excited about Octo as a mid-size GovCon company inviting other companies to work side by side on innovation. “We appreciate all Octo does helping the Federal Government.”

U.S. Senator **Mark Warner** and Octo CEO **Mehul Sanghani** address VIPs and attendees during Octo’s oLabs ribbon-cutting ceremonies in Reston, VA. — ***BDPA NoVA photo © 2022 bdpatoday***

Octo’s CEO Mehul Sanghani said, “We are ecstatic to see the official launch of this new space and all that it offers. Octo is dedicated to finding the best solutions for customers, those that make missions happen. That can only be accomplished with powerful technology resources and a commitment to R&D. Using next-gen IT and a collaborative approach, oLabs is accelerating and validating proof-of-concepts to create transformative solutions that can’t be found anywhere else in the region. This space allows us to be in alignment with our customers future goals, and also gives us a competitive advantage over our peers.”

Sujey Edward, CTO at Octo, said, “At the end of the day, you can’t solve the hardest problems in the world without three things: the best technical talent, real world experience, and next generation technology. In this space we have all three. Anything less than that is just a glorified conference room.

“Octo has invested millions of independent research and development dollars into building oLabs, the industry’s most capable center for innovation. We’ve also perfected a collaborative approach to working with our customers supported by an extraordinary facility full of exceptionally talented and passionate emerging technology professionals. Our team isn’t just technical. They have relevant real-world experience in our core domains also. They are former special operators, data scientists pulled from some of the largest companies around the world, DevOps engineers, and AI/ML engineers who understand the scenarios in which our solutions will be deployed.”

oLabs products and solutions are used and are in testing by customers including the U.S. Army, Marine Corps Special Operations Command, the U.S. Navy, and others. Customers who could not attend the grand opening are invited to tour the space. Learn more at olabs.octo.us.

Octo, Platinum Sponsor of national BDPA’s Greater Washington, D.C. Chapter, is a technology firm dedicated to solving the Federal Government’s most complex challenges, enabling agencies to jump the technology curve. We don’t just modernize. We create lasting change through best practices that help agencies implement and integrate at-scale next-generation technology and innovation. With a mission and service first mentality, we provide Agile, DevSecOps, Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity, Blockchain, Cloud, Open Source, and Data Science solutions, collaborating to solve customers’ pressing problems. Headquartered in Reston, Virginia, Octo delivers proven technology vital to the intelligence community and health care, defense, national security, and civilian agencies that directly impact our nation.

_{— Source:}_{Octo/Business Wire}

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https://www.octoconsulting.com/

HPE, JEF, and BDPA Commemorate “Exascale Day” ― 10^18

Webinar + APBi: 17 OCT 20 10:00 am ET

Link to recorded webinar (October 17, 2020):
View webinar → https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ptj2yiciZiU&list=PLwwkfkXZ4yRqAiMIDUYDxJ3GQWruLPwwa

Industry Presenter: Steve Heibein
Steve Heibein is the Artificial Intelligence (Ai) Lead for Hewlett Packard Enterprise. Before HPE, he served as CIO, CTO, or VP Engineering for 20 years at several tech and media companies. In these roles, he oversaw Ai, machine learning, and data analytics projects in the areas of life science, fraud prevention, natural language processing, identity theft, cybersecurity, and energy forecasting. Steve advises organizations on the use and deployment of Ai solutions and regularly presents about high-performance computing and artificial intelligence.

Industry Moderator/Co-Host: Bryan Bemley
Bryan Bemley is an IT security specialist with Accenture Federal Services (AFS) and CIO of Joint Educational Facilities (JEF), Inc. Since the age of four, Bryan has always been fascinated with technology, beginning his leap with learning and understand DOS. Since then, Bryan has immersed himself in many different areas in Computer Science and Information Technology including Artificial Life, High Performance Computing (HPC), Web and Graphic Design, Cloud Computing, and Cyber Security. Using his experience and love of research and technology, Bryan strives to teach and mentor anyone who has an interest in IT to increase their body of knowledge.

Summary: Exascale Day is 18 October 2020
Exascale Day is the day we celebrate people and organizations actively using supercomputing and computational science to change the world for the better.

WEBINAR: Since 1982, HP, HPE, and Joint Educational Facilities, Inc. (JEF) have been Industry mission-partners with National BDPA and the High Performance Computing (HPC) Community. In this webinar and advance planning briefing for Interns and Industry (APBi) series, we highlight “Artificial Intelligence” or “Ai” along with, HPE, our HPC Community, and achievements across Industry featuring BDPA and JEF collaborations and related success stories. Our question and answer (Q&A) segment is facilitated by Bryan Bemley (JEF.org) and Perry Carter (bdpatoday.com).

Up next with JEF and BDPA: Autonomous Operations: Ai and Compute at “The Edge” and “Edge-to-Core Analytics” (our next sessions featuring HPE are November 7th and 14th).

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Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee Investigation Reveals Digital Economy Highly Concentrated, Impacted By Monopoly Power

WASHINGTON—The House Judiciary Committee’s Antitrust Subcommittee released the findings of its more than 16-month long investigation into the state of competition in the digital economy, especially the challenges presented by the dominance of Apple, Amazon, Google, and Facebook and their business practices.

The report, entitled Investigation of Competition in the Digital Marketplace: Majority Staff Report and Recommendations, totals more than 400 pages, marking the culmination of an investigation that included seven congressional hearings, the production of nearly 1.3 million internal documents and communications, submissions from 38 antitrust experts, and interviews with more than 240 market participants, former employees of the investigated platforms, and other individuals. The full report may be downloaded by clicking here.

“As they exist today, Apple, Amazon, Google, and Facebook each possess significant market power over large swaths of our economy. In recent years, each company has expanded and exploited their power of the marketplace in anticompetitive ways,” said Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (NY-10) and Antitrust Subcommittee Chairman David N. Cicilline (RI-01) in a joint statement. “Our investigation leaves no doubt that there is a clear and compelling need for Congress and the antitrust enforcement agencies to take action that restores competition, improves innovation, and safeguards our democracy. This Report outlines a roadmap for achieving that goal.”

After outlining the challenges presented due to the market domination of Amazon, Apple, Google, and Facebook, the report walks through a series of possible remedies to (1) restore competition in the digital economy, (2) strengthen the antitrust laws, and (3) reinvigorate antitrust enforcement.

The slate of recommendations include:

Structural separations to prohibit platforms from operating in lines of business that depend on or interoperate with the platform;
Prohibiting platforms from engaging in self-preferencing;
Requiring platforms to make its services compatible with competing networks to allow for interoperability and data portability;
Mandating that platforms provide due process before taking action against market participants;
Establishing a standard to proscribe strategic acquisitions that reduce competition;
Improvements to the Clayton Act, the Sherman Act, and the Federal Trade Commission Act, to bring these laws into line with the challenges of the digital economy;
Eliminating anticompetitive forced arbitration clauses;
Strengthening the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice;
And promoting greater transparency and democratization of the antitrust agencies.

“After conducting this country’s first major congressional antitrust investigation in decades in which we held hearings, heard from experts and questioned the CEOs of dominant tech platforms, I can say conclusively that self-regulation by Big Tech comes at the expense of our communities, small businesses, consumers, the free press and innovation,” said Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal. “By reasserting the power of Congress, we now have a thoroughly researched and meticulously reasoned roadmap for the work ahead as we rein in anti-competitive behavior, help prevent monopolistic practices and allow innovation to thrive. I’m looking forward to continuing this urgent work.”

“This comprehensive report is a roadmap to a future where digital behemoths with considerable power over their markets are kept accountable to consumers, small businesses, and their workers,” said Rep. Hank Johnson, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property and the Internet. “By following these recommendations, we can bolster antitrust protections to ensure consumer choice, data privacy, and affordability in online marketplaces. But in doing so, we must also answer the overarching question that we’ve been grappling with: How do we remain a country where small businesses can thrive, even as we shift from brick and mortar to lines of code? That is our challenge now.”

Rep. Val Demings added, “Our investigation revealed an alarming pattern of business practices that degrade competition and stifle innovation. These companies have made remarkable advancements that have shaped our markets and our culture, but their anticompetitive acts have come at a cost for consumers and small businesses. Competition must reward the best idea, not the biggest corporate account. We will take steps necessary to hold rulebreakers accountable. I thank Chairman Cicilline for his leadership, and will continue to work for a fair marketplace and a tech industry that can advance quality of life for every person without undermining it for others.”

“Small businesses are the backbone of our economy and they must be able to compete on a level playing field,” said Rep. Lucy McBath. “We must do all we can to ensure our economy remains fair, our entrepreneurs have the incentive to innovate, and our small businesses are given the opportunity to prosper and create new and good-paying jobs.”

“This investigation has revealed that Apple, Amazon, Facebook, and Google were committed to drowning out competition through unfair and anti-competitive practices – often doing so at the expense of user privacy and innovation,” said Rep. Scanlon. “We must do everything we can to protect consumers and this report is a roadmap to the work that lies ahead. I look forward to developing and introducing legislation to restore fairness to the digital marketplace.”

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At BDPA: An annual tech ‘Trade Mission’ to CES

LAS VEGAS, NV — Commerce, our cultural and geopolitical interchange of relationships, solutions, and services, soon will embrace fifth generation (5G) wireless technologies. With 5G, data, processing, storage, and new sensory techniques will leverage information technology (IT) across new frameworks and unprecedented infrastructures..

Now in its 45th year, National BDPA (BDPA), its members, and its mission-partners remain keenly interested in providing innovative solutions with new services, while supporting viable workforce pipelines for the following projected growth areas:

Robotics and Machine Intelligence
5G, Ai, and the Internet (or “Intelligence”) of Things (IoT)
Edge Computing and Quantum Computing
Gamification and Immersive Infotainment
Infrastructure and SMART City Initiatives
Tech-Inclusion and Cyber Workforce Development

This year during CES® – the world’s largest and most influential tech event – entrepreneurs, software engineers, startups, and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) met during CES 2020 to discuss emerging requirements or demonstrate their latest products and services. Within tech’s multi-trillion dollar ecosystem, IT continues to transcend every vertical market from agriculture to transportation while providing faster interactions with the greatest consumer engagements and user experience (UX.) BDPA Members and mission-partners are the professionals that help make “IT” happen.

Meet Rodney Williams

In 2012, Rodney Williams co-founded LISNR® with Chris Ostoich and Josh Glick around the core premise that sound can do more. The single insight that sound can be leveraged as a conduit for wide-scale connections everywhere. More specifically, using sound to connect more people and devices in ways that had never existed before.

Since arriving at that insight, LISNR has grown into the world’s most advanced ultrasonic technology. To fill the need, LISNR developed the idea of a software solution for encoding data into inaudible tones. LISNR is ultrasonic inaudible technology; a communication protocol that sends data over audio. They use ultrasonic audio called Smart Tones™ to transmit information and has grown their list of partners, clients and investors to include some of the best in the world.

Mr. Williams earned his BBA in Finance from West Virginia University and his MBA from Howard University. He is a Techstars Mentor and Member of National BDPA’s Cincinnati Chapter. BDPA Members with Python, Java, or Objective-C experiences may review LISNR’s current openings for Implementation Engineers, by visiting LISNR.com.

BDPA and bdpatoday received invitations from LISNR’s team to join them during CES 2020 at a reception hosted by the GENIVI Alliance. The alliance develops standard approaches for integrating operating systems and middleware present in the centralized and connected vehicle cockpit. The alliance also links adopters of Android™ Automotive, AUTOSAR, Linux, and other in-vehicle software with solution suppliers resulting in a productive and collaborative community of over 100 corporate members worldwide.

Meet Brenna Brown

At Igalia, Ms. Brown works in the most exciting areas in open source software, including Browsers, Graphics and Multimedia. Igalia applies their knowledge to a wide variety of platforms and technologies in the consumer electronics market and can provide our companies and agencies with innovative user-interface (UI) solutions for Smart TVs, set-top boxes, tablets, mobile phones, in-vehicle infotainment, and smart-home automation.

Ms. Brown earned her BSEE from Howard University and an MBA from Pepperdine University. Igalia is hiring, BDPA Members and BDPA Student Members are asked to reach out to Ms. Brown for entry-level or internship opportunities. She wants to hear from BDPA’s Jr. Devs, High School Computer Competition (HSCC) alumni, and professionals who understand Linux and OpenGL with WebKit or WebRTC on their latest resume.

Send to: resumes@bdpadc.org.

Above (L-R) Brenna Brown, Igalia; Morris Williams, Maryland Aviation Administration; and Terry Speigner, CEO of NGEN LLC. BDPA and bdpatoday met with Igalia’s team while attending GENIVI Networking Reception & Showcase at the Bellagio Hotel with state delegations from Maryland and Michigan. — Photo ©2020 bdpatoday

Meet Paul Amadeus Lane

Mr. Lane is an Accessibility Consultant working with game developers and consumer technology companies help meet the needs of the disabled user. Mr. Lane also is a Bureau Chief and Multimedia Host in the Greater Los Angeles area covering tech, gaming and entertainment for ABC News Radio, KMET 1490 AM. Being a person with a disability, he uses his personal experiences to try to make sure he speaks to everyone with topics that he covers.

Each year during CES, Mr. Lane looks forward to his live broadcasts. At CES 2020 this week, he was able to join his pal Dr. Stephen Ewell (photo) from the Consumer Technology Association Foundation to discuss their amazing initiatives and accomplishments.

Above (L-R) ABC News Radio, KMET 1490 AM, Bureau Chief Paul Amadeus Lane with CTA Foundation’s Dr. Stephen Ewell in the Las Vegas Convention Center’s North Hall media center during CES 2020.

Meet Dr. Karl Reid

Dr. Karl Reid is the Executive Director of our National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), one of the world’s largest student-governed engineering organizations. He also is the author of “Working Smarter, Not Just Harder: Three Sensible Strategies for Succeeding in College…and Life.” Prior to joining NSBE, Dr. Reid was Senior Vice President of Research, Innovation and Member College Engagement at UNCF where he developed and implemented educational, research and capacity-building programs for UNCF’s 37 member historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). Dr. Reid arrived at UNCF from MIT after serving as Associate Dean of Undergraduate Education, Assistant to the Chancellor for Diversity and Director of the Office of Minority Education.

Dr. Reid attended several workshops with Industry leaders and BDPA Mission Partners from around the world during CES 2020. BDPA Student Members interested in supporting NSBE Jr. activities or joining a NSBE Chapter are invited to visit NSBE.org. BDPA, NSBE, and the National Science Foundation (NSF) will continue to support the establishment of new BDPA Chapters collocated with HBCU/MIs and Community Colleges.

Above (L-R) Dr. Quincy Brown, Anita Borg Institute; Dr. Todd Shurn, Howard University; Ms. Omarosa Manigault-Newman; Dr. Karl Reid, Executive Director, NSBE; Ms. Sherika Ekpo, Global D&I Lead- Research & Artificial Intelligence at Google; Ms. Sherida McMullan, Inclusion & Diversity at Lyft; and Mr. Perry Carter, publisher, bdpatoday. — Photo ©2020 bdpatoday

Meet-Up @ CES 2021?

The Consumer Technology Association (CTA)® convenes companies of every size and specialty in the technology industry to move us all forward. Located outside of Washington, D.C. in Arlington, VA, CTA is the trade association representing the $398 billion U.S. consumer technology industry, which supports more than 15 million U.S. jobs.

Powered by CTA, CES formally known as the Consumer Electronics Show, is the world’s gathering place for all those who thrive on the business of consumer technologies. BDPA Chapters, BDPA Members, and BDPA Student Members attending next year’s “trade mission” to CES 2021 may contact National BDPA or National BDPA’s Washington, D.C. Chapter to arrange meet-ups or attend special Industry Partner events.

BDPA is a community oriented tech and media “trade” association. Join, renew, or launch a new BDPA Chapter on campus today by visiting BDPA.org and bdpatoday.com.

— Sources and photos: ABC News Radio/KMET, BDPA, CTA, Igalia, LISNR, and NSBE

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Tech ‘Team Mom’ is 2019’s Member of the Year

2019 Member of The Year (BDPA-DC)

The Real SV: From Somerville to Silicon Valley

WASHINGTON — Terry Brox, a native of Philadelphia PA, holds degrees in Computer Science from La Salle University, Information Security from Peirce College and a Masters Certificate in Instructional Design from George Mason University. Employed by KPMG, she is a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) and a Certified Information Security Auditor (CISA).

As a child, Terry always wanted to be a teacher and although she started her career teaching computer programming in Philadelphia, PA, the opportunity to work in Silicon Valley as a Computer Scientist was the best decision she ever made. She currently resides in Northern Virginia, is married with three children, and has two grandchildren.

More “hidden figures” with countless success stories continue to evolve from Philadelphia’s Germantown and West Oak Lane communities in spite of known challenges chronicled from the late 1960’s through the turn of the century. Skirmishes between Brickyard, Clang, Dogtown, Haines Street, Somerville, and other turf rivalries across Philadelphia were emblematic of the struggles of inner-city youth that transcended Ms. Brox’ childhood communities.

Founded in 1975 by Earl A. Pace, Jr. not too far away in the Nicetown section of Philadelphia, BDPA (formerly known as Black Data Processing Associates) gives Ms. Brox an opportunity to give back to her communities while doing something which she dreamed of doing since childhood.

This year as a volunteer and sponsor, Ms. Brox served as a Coach, a Mentor, and “Team Mom” to 2019’s High School Computer Competition (HSCC) team from the National Capital Region. Training, coding, and application development sessions were conducted on weekends. BDPA-DC’s HSCC Student Member finalists successfully captured their third national HSCC coding championship in Atlanta, GA during BDPACon19. Twelve other U.S. HSCC teams competed.

The trade association’s annual Tech and Media Reception and Community Technology Awards is Thursday evening, November 21, 2019, from 5:30 pm to 8:30 pm at Samsung Electronics Future Center on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.

— Source: BDPA of Greater Washington, D.C.

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It’s Not a Pipeline Problem

SAN FRANCISCO, CA — Your company struggles with finding diverse talent; it’s not a pipeline problem. It’s a buy-in, bias, branding and business case problem. Unconscious bias is like an odorless gas; it affects everyone, everywhere all the time. It is not a problem humans can solve without augmented intelligence. Blendoor tackles bias with great design, artificial intelligence (AI), deep learning, and people analytics.

Blendoor has deep expertise in enterprise software as a service (SaaS), diversity and inclusion (D&I), machine learning (ML), and a passion for creating technology that makes an impact. The company aggregates diverse talent from multiple sources to broaden talent search and then uses blind review and analytics to mitigate unconscious bias ‘from source to hire.’

Today, Blendoor is revolutionizing the way people see people. They understand the significant impact of unconscious bias in our day-to-day world and for them, hiring is just the tip of the iceberg. The America of today and tomorrow is very different than it was at the turn of the century. Demographics are rapidly changing and so are priorities. People want to know that they are represented and the companies they work for are both progressive and inclusive spaces.

Though we know the term diversity can be interpreted in several ways, Blendoor focused specifically on diversity of gender, race, ability, and sexual orientation when aggregating data for its latest product, BlendScore. Companies were scored and ranked based on their respective diversity and inclusion efforts to help job-seekers find where they truly belong. Discover more at blendoor.com.

— Source and photos: Blendoor

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Jaguar Land Rover and BlackBerry Deepen Partnership for Intelligent Vehicles

WATERLOO, Ontario–BlackBerry Limited and Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) announced they have deepened their partnership in developing the automotive manufacturer’s next generation vehicles.

The collaboration between the companies has expanded to include:

BlackBerry Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning technologies for Automotive. Leveraging BlackBerry QNX and BlackBerry Cylance, the companies are working on transforming vehicle safety across a range of capabilities, including predictive software maintenance and cybersecurity threat protection
BlackBerry QNX for Jaguar Land Rover’s next-generation vehicle architecture. Integrating BlackBerry software establishes the overall safety of Jaguar Land Rover’s next-generation vehicle architecture, for the best-in-class product its customers expect
BlackBerry Cybersecurity Consulting. Consisting of BlackBerry consultants and security testing technology, BlackBerry Cybersecurity Consulting services identify security vulnerabilities in connected and autonomous vehicles, across the full software library used in a vehicle.

“Jaguar Land Rover and BlackBerry share a common objective in bringing the most intelligent vehicles to reality,” said Prof Sir Ralf D Speth KBE FREng, Jaguar Land Rover CEO. “I am delighted that our partnership with BlackBerry continues to go from strength-to-strength, a company whose technology innovations uniquely address the expanding safety needs of the automotive industry.”

“BlackBerry is a trusted partner of the automotive industry because of our heritage and innovations in secure communications,” said John Chen, Executive Chairman & CEO, BlackBerry. “We are pleased to be Jaguar Land Rover’s chosen partner for safety-certified technology, as we advance Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning technologies to transform automotive safety.”

Prof Sir Ralf D Speth KBE FREng, Chief Executive Officer of JLR, will deliver a keynote address at BlackBerry’s annual flagship security conference in London, on October 2, 2019.

This event is an annual forum for business leaders, technology developers, industry experts and market analysts to discover next-generation products and services that address the expanding secure communications needs of our connected world.

Industry is invited to join automotive, government, financial services, legal, healthcare, energy, manufacturing and other industries by registering for this event at BlackBerry.com/London2019.

⁠— Sources and photo: Blackberry and Jaguar Land Rover

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Supercomputer Opportunities at Argonne National Laboratory

LEMONT, IL (BDPA Chicago) — The world’s most powerful computer ever built in the United States will make its home at Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) in 2021, the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) and Intel announced last quarter. Aurora, the United States’ first exascale computer, combines unprecedented processing power with the growing potential of artificial intelligence (Ai) to help solve the world’s most important and complex scientific challenges. Take a quick tour viewing this video.

Argonne is a multidisciplinary science and engineering research center, where teams of world-class researchers work alongside experts from industry, academia, and other government laboratories to address vital national challenges in clean energy, environment, technology, and national security. This engaging environment makes Argonne a great place for undergraduates to participate in cutting-edge research and develop a dynamic skill set for the next stage in their careers.

STEM Outreach
To inspire students to consider pursuing a career in a Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics (STEM) field, Argonne Educational Programs supports and encourages STEM Outreach. Through facilitating competitions, sending scientists to physically or virtually visit classrooms, and showcasing Argonne research at local STEM fairs and expos for students and families, Argonne Educational Programs commits itself to broadening the impact of STEM awareness in our community.

Internships

Select here for additional outreach information and internship opportunities. DoE’s Minority Serving Institutions Partnership Program (MSIPP) offers internships to help develop our future workforce in critically important areas of science, engineering, technology, and mathematics (STEM). We invite you to help us tackle our unique and often-unprecedented scientific and technical challenges, which are engaging some of the finest scientists and engineers in the nation.

— Source and photos: Argonne National Laboratory (ANL)

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APL’s Chief of Intelligent Systems Weighs in on Artificial Intelligence

BALTIMORE, MD—As chief of the Intelligent Systems Center at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), in Laurel, Maryland, Ashley Llorens is at the nexus of efforts to develop a technology road map and engagement strategy for establishing the Laboratory as a nationally recognized leader and trusted partner in artificial intelligence (AI). His recent appointments to three advisory boards not only have placed the Laboratory at the table with the best minds in AI, he said, but also give APL “the opportunity to contribute to the national discourse around AI while helping to guide our sponsors’ thinking and investments in this emerging area of focus.”

Llorens is one of 22 former senior government officials, industry leaders and academic experts tapped to form the Center for a New American Security’s Task Force on Artificial Intelligence and National Security. Co-chaired by former Deputy Secretary of Defense and APL Senior Fellow Bob Work, and Andrew Moore, head of Google Cloud Artificial Intelligence, the group is examining how the United States should respond to national security challenges posed by artificial intelligence.

Llorens said the task force is part of a larger CNAS effort to explore how the AI revolution could lead to changes in security, global power and the character of conflict. Its members include Jason Matheny, former director of the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity; Jack Clark, policy director at Open AI; and Tuomas Sandholm, who leads Carnegie Mellon University’s AI initiatives.

“It’s an honor to engage with the top thinkers in the field, and to take the opportunity to articulate the unique needs that the Department of Defense has in terms of technology and policy — to represent APL as a trusted voice,” Llorens said. “It’s also giving us an early look at emerging trends in academia and Silicon Valley.” Read more …

Sources and photo credits:
The Applied Physics Laboratory, a not-for-profit division of The Johns Hopkins University

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Comcast Buys AI-Based Cyber Tech Developer BluVector

PHILADELPHIA, PA—Comcast has purchased Arlington, Va.-based cybersecurity firm BluVector for an undisclosed sum.

BluVector develops and provides platforms based on artificial intelligence and machine learning designed to help government agencies and companies detect and address zero-day malware, ransomware and other cyber threats, Comcast said Friday.

Eric Malawer, a more than 20-year technology industry veteran, will serve as CEO of BluVector and lead the company’s growth efforts as part of Comcast.

“We’re thrilled that BluVector is part of Comcast and are excited to support its continued growth, even as we explore new opportunities to leverage BluVector technology and expertise,” said Don Mathis, general manager of growth at Comcast.

Kris Lovejoy, founding CEO of BluVector, will continue to serve as consultant and adviser to Comcast and BluVector.

Noopur Davis, chief information security officer at Comcast, will oversee efforts to identify opportunities to support new offerings and programs through the combined expertise and technologies of both firms.

Category: Artificial Intelligence

HPE, JEF, and BDPA Commemorate “Exascale Day” ― 10^18

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Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee Investigation Reveals Digital Economy Highly Concentrated, Impacted By Monopoly Power

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