NVIDIA’s Anthony Robbins: Gov’t, Industry Should Align Priorities for AI Dev’t, Scaling

Anthony Robbins, vice president of NVIDIA's federal segment and a three-time Wash100 Award recipient, has said that industry must help the government quicken the pace of artificial intelligence development and scaling.

Robbins told FedScoop in an interview aired Friday that the federal government “really rallied industry" to address AI challenges and opportunities and was able to communicate priorities such as cybersecurity, platform sustainment, robotics and autonomous systems.

The key to accelerating the government’s AI efforts is aligning priorities with the defense industrial base which also includes NVIDIA, he noted.

According to Robbins, the government’s outreach efforts to startups can help agencies achieve goals in AI development encompassing factors such as data, infrastructure, use case and talent.

He added that he currently sees government AI workforce initiatives similar to the cyber-focused efforts under Suzette Kent, the former federal chief information officer and a fellow 2020 Wash100 Award recipient.

“[AI] is the largest technology transformation that the federal government has ever undertaken,” said Robbins. “And [there are] compelling reasons why it is so big, why it is so now, and why the government has to go much faster.”