CMS is set to host AI demo days; OMB guidance on federal AI acquisition is coming soon

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is asking organizations to provide information about artificial intelligence technologies for use in health care outcomes and service delivery as it plans demonstration events. In a request for information announced earlier this week, CMS said it wants to gather information about AI products and services from health care companies, providers, payers, start-ups and others, and plans to eventually select organizations to provide demos of those technologies at “CMS AI Demo Days” starting in October. The demo days will be held quarterly and are intended “to educate and inspire the CMS workforce on AI capabilities and provide information to inform potential future agency action.”

The Office of Management and Budget is set to soon issue a new memo to help guide agencies’ acquisition of artificial intelligence technologies. Deputy Federal CIO Drew Myklegard said Tuesday at FedTalks, produced by FedScoop, that on top of all the milestones the Biden administration has met since issuing its landmark AI executive order last fall, OMB has been developing guidance to ensure federal agencies are following best practices when acquiring AI technologies. The forthcoming memo will follow the release of more wide-ranging OMB guidance issued March 28 on federal adoption of AI with a focus on governance, risk and transparency. Myklegard didn’t give a specific timeline for the release of that guidance, but the executive order called for OMB to produce “an initial means to ensure that agency contracts for the acquisition of AI systems and services align with” OMB’s earlier AI guidance within 180 days of its issuance — so, by Sept 24.

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