IBM’s Dan Chenok: Agencies Should Understand Benefits, Risks of AI

Dan Chenok, executive director of the IBM Center for the Business of Government, told Government Matters in an interview posted Monday about the need for government agencies to understand the benefits and risks of implementing artificial intelligence.

He said there are positive elements of adopting AI, such as faster time to serve citizens, reduced costs of operations and the benefit of enabling government and industry employees to focus on missions and customer service.

Chenok cited the risks of AI adoption, including privacy and security risks, inaccurate data and the risk of personnel being unfamiliar with the nature of new technologies. He said agencies should manage those risks to achieve the technology’s benefits.

He noted that AI changes the nature of work and discussed the need for agencies to train employees when it comes to implementing AI.

Amid the coronavirus pandemic, Chenok discussed the importance of expediting the delivery of benefits and services through the use of advanced technologies.

“The nature of government work will change. The acceleration of that change has only been increased by current events and coming aftermath around the response to COVID-19,” he said. “As government thinks about using AI and other emerging technologies effectively, it needs to think about how to assess the operation of those technologies relative to the benefits and risks."