The 12 Artificial Intelligence Events for Government in 2024

Carahsoft 10 Artificial Intelligence Events for the New Year Blog Embedded Image 2024Last year set a landmark standard for innovation in artificial intelligence (AI). Federal, State, and Local Governments and Federal Systems Integrators are eager to learn how they can implement AI technology within their agencies. With the recent Presidential Executive Order for AI, many Public Sector-focused events in 2024 will explore AI modernizations, from accelerated computing in cloud to the data center, secure generative AI, cybersecurity, workforce planning and more.

We have compiled the top AI events for Government for 2024 that you will not want to miss.

1. AI for Government Summit

May 2, 2024, Reston, VA | In-Person Event

The AI for Government Summit is a half-day event designed to bring together Government officials, AI experts and industry leaders to explore the transformative potential of AI in the public sector. As Governments worldwide increasingly adopt AI technologies to enhance efficiency, improve services and address complex challenges, this summit will serve as a platform for collaboration, discussion and sharing knowledge on the latest advancements and best practices in AI deployment within Government organizations.

Sessions to look out for: Cybersecurity & AI – Safeguarding the Government and Generative AI Government Use Case Panel 

Carahsoft is proud to host this inaugural event alongside FedInsider. Join us and over 100 of our AI & machine learning technology and solution providers as they speak towards AI adoption in our Public Sector and how they are using AI to solve our government’s most critical challenges. Attendees will also hear from top government decision-makers as they share unique insights into their current AI projects. 

2. NVIDIA GTC 

March 18 – 21, 2024, San Jose, CA | Hybrid Event

Come connect with a dream team of industry luminaries, developers, researchers, and business strategists helping shape what’s next in AI and accelerated computing. From the highly anticipated keynote by NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang to over 600 inspiring sessions, 200+ exhibits, and tons of unique networking events, GTC delivers something for every technical level and interest area. Whether you join us in person or virtually, you are in for an incredible experience at the conference for the era of AI.

Sessions to look out for: What’s Next in Generative AI and Robotics in the Age of Generative AI 

Carahsoft serves as NVIDIA’s Master Aggregator working with resellers, systems integrators, and consultants. Our team provides NVIDIA products, services, and training through hundreds of contract vehicles.

Carahsoft is proud to be the host of the GTC Public Sector Reception on Tuesday, March 19th.  

Please visit Carahsoft and our partners at the following booths:

  • Government IT Solutions: Carahsoft (#1726), Government Acquisitions (#1820), World Wide Technology (#929)
  • AI/ML & Data Analytics: Anaconda (#1701), Dataiku (#1704), Datadog (#1033), DataRobot (#1603), Deepgram (#1719), Domino Data Labs (#1612), Gretel.AI (G130), H2O.AI (G124), HEAVY.AI (#1803), Kinetica (I132), Lilt (I123), Primer.AI (I126), Red Hat (#1605), Run:AI (#1408), Snowflake (#930), Weights & Biases (#1505 & G115)
  • AI Infrastructure: Dell (#1216), DDN (#1521), Edge Impulse (#434), Lambda Data Lab (#616), Lenovo (#1740), Liqid (#1525), Pure Storage (#1529), Rescale (#1804), Rendered.AI (#330), Supermicro (#1016), Weka (#1517)
  • Industry Leaders: AWS (#708), Google Cloud (#808), HPE (#408), Hitachi Vantara (#308), IBM (#1324), Microsoft (#1108), VAST Data (#1424), VMware (#1604)

3. 5th Annual Artificial Intelligence Summit  

March 21, 2024, Falls Church, VA | In-Person Event  

Join the Potomac Officers Club’s 5th Annual AI Summit, where federal leaders and industry experts converge to explore the transformative power of artificial intelligence. Discover innovative AI advancements, engage in dynamic discussions, and forge strategic collaborations with key partners at this annual gathering of the movers and shakers in the AI field. Hosted by Executive Mosaic, this summit will be held in Falls Church, Virginia.  

Sessions to look out for: Leveraging Collaboration to Accelerate AI Adoption in the DoD and Operationalizing AI in Government: Getting Things Done with Automation  

Carahsoft is the master aggregator for Percipient AI, a Silver Sponsor, and Primer AI, the Platinum Sponsor. Mark Brunner, President of Federal at Primer AI, will also be speaking at the event. 

4. INSA Spring Symposium: How AI is Transforming the IC

April, 4, 2024, Arlington, VA | In-Person Event

Join 300+ intelligence and national security professionals at INSA’s Spring Symposium, How Artificial Intelligence is Transforming the IC, on Thursday, April 4, from 8:00 am-4:30 pm at the INSA/NRECA Conference Center in Arlington, VA. Key leaders from government, academia, and industry will discuss cutting-edge AI innovations transforming intelligence analysis, top priorities and concerns from government stakeholders, developments in ethics and oversight, challenges and opportunities facing the public and private sector and more!

Session to look out for: AI Ready? Challenges from a Data-Centric Viewpoint

Meet with Carahsoft partners AWS, Google Cloud, Intel, and Primer.

5. Google Next ‘24  

April 9 – 11, Las Vegas, NV | In-Person Event  

Explore new horizons in AI at Google Cloud Next ’24 in Las Vegas, April 9–11 at Mandalay Bay Convention Center. Dive into AI use cases, learn how to stay ahead of cyberthreats with frontline intelligence and AI powered security and boost data and thrive in a new era of AI. Plus, see our latest in AI, productivity and collaboration, and security from Google Public Sector.  

Carahsoft will be a sponsor of Google Next ‘24 with a significant public sector presence and plans to host a reception as well. 

6. SC24  

November 17 – 22, 2024, Atlanta, GA | Hybrid Event  

Supercomputing (SC) is the longest running and largest high performance computing conference. SC is an unparalleled mix of thousands of scientists, engineers, researchers, educators, programmers, and developers. Hosted by The Association for Computing Machinery & IEEE Computer Society, SC24 is hosted in Atlanta, Georgia.   

Carahsoft is proud to attend SC24 for a fourth year as the master aggregator serving the public sector. Carahsoft will be hosting an extensive partner pavilion showcasing daily demos of our technology and solution partners, demonstrating use-cases in AI and HPC intended for higher-ed organizations, research institutions, government agencies, and more.  

Join us at our public sector reception for a night of networking with leading decision-makers and solution experts on November 20. 

7. Elastic Public Sector Summit ‘24  

March 13, 2024, Pentagon City, VA | In-Person Event  

Join top Federal program executives and IT leaders to learn firsthand how advances in data management, search and analytics capabilities are helping agencies turn data into mission value faster and more productively for citizens and Government employees. Learn how agencies are leveraging these capabilities for cybersecurity, operational resilience, and preparing for the new era of generative AI. FedScoop, Elastic and Carahsoft will co-host this summit in Pentagon City, Virginia.   

As a top-level sponsor of Elastic’s Public Sector Summit, Carahsoft will host a pavilion on the exhibit floor that features Elastic’s foremost technology partners for the hundreds of projected government attendees.

8. CDAO Government

September 17 – 19, 2024, Washington DC | In-Person Event  

This event brings together the latest technological advancements and practical examples to apply key data-driven strategies to solve challenges in Government and greater society. Join a unique mix of academia, industry and Government thought leaders at the forefront of research and explore real-world case studies to discover the value of data and analytics. Located in Washington, D.C., CDAO Government will be hosted by Corinium Intelligence.   

Carahsoft was proud to be a Premier Sponsor at the 2023 CDAO Government, involving numerous of our vendor partners, Cloudera, and HP, Alation, Informatica, Progress|MarkLogic, Snowflake, and Tyler Technologies, Alteryx, Coursera, DataRobot, Databricks, Elastic, Immuta, Primer AI, and Qlik. 

Carahsoft looks forward to participating as a leading sponsor again at the 2024 CDAO Government.  

9. OODACON

November 5 – 6, Reston, VA | In-Person Event 

The world is at a transition point where technology is enabling rapid changes that can drive both positive and negative outcomes for humanity. It is also empowering many bad actors and poses new threats. The essence of OODAcon lies in its capacity to forge a robust community of leaders, experts, and practitioners that serve as a collective force that can propel us towards a brighter future.  

Join us at the Carahsoft Conference and Collaboration Center to discuss how disruptive technology can solve the most pressing issues of today. 

10. AWS Public Sector Summit 

June 26-27, 2024, Washington DC | In-Person Event 

Join Carahsoft and our partners for two days on innovation, collaboration and global representation. Designed to unite the global cloud computing community, AWS Summits are designed to educate customers about AWS products and services, providing them with the skills they’ll need in order to build, deploy, and operate their infrastructure and applications. 

As a top-level sponsor of AWS’ Public Sector Summit, Carahsoft will host a pavilion on the exhibit floor that features AWS’ foremost technology partners for the thousands of projected government attendees. 

Learn More About Previously Held Events

11. CDAO Advantage DoD24 Defense Data & AI Symposium  

Carahsoft was at CDAO’s inaugural Advantage DoD 2024: Defense Data & AI Symposium from February 20th to 22nd at the Washington Hilton in Washington, DC. The symposium provided a platform for over 1000 government officials, industry leaders, academia, and partners to converge and explore the latest advancements in data, analytics, and artificial intelligence in support of the U.S. Department of Defense mission. Carahsoft had a small tabletop partner pavilion, featuring our vendor partners Alteryx, DataRobot, Collibra, Elastic, Databricks, PTFS, EDB, Weights & Biases, and Clarifai.

Throughout the symposium, attendees from diverse backgrounds, including technical programmers, policymakers, and human resources professionals, gained valuable insights into emerging technologies and best practices for integrating data-driven strategies into organizational frameworks. Attendees also enjoyed two networking receptions hosted by Booz Allen Hamilton and C3.ai.

The agenda featured compelling speaking sessions including topics such as:

  1. Task Force Lima – The Way Forward (Goals and Progress)
  2. LLMs and Cybersecurity: Practical Examples and a Look Ahead
  3. DoD GenAI Use Cases and Acceptability Criterias

12. Using Generative AI & Machine Learning in the Enterprise  

This intimate one-day 500-person conference curated data science sessions to bring industry leaders and specialists face-to-face to educate one another on innovative solutions in generative AI, machine learning, predictive analytics, and best practices. Attendees saw a mix of use-cases, technical talks, and workshops, and walked away with actionable insights from those working on the frontlines of machine learning in the enterprise. Hosted by Data Science Salon, the event was held in Austin, Texas.

Carahsoft partners NVIDIA and John Snow Labs were in attendance; two leading AI and Machine Learning solution providers. Carahsoft serves as the master aggregator for both NVIDIA and John Snow Labs to provide government agencies with solutions that fulfill mission needs from trustworthy technology and industry partners.

While the landscape of government events has always been in flux, the pace of change in 2024 feels downright dizzying. From navigating hybrid gatherings to crafting data-driven experiences, the pressure is on to connect, inform, and engage. This is where the power of AI steps in, not as a silver bullet, but as a toolbox brimming with innovative solutions. Carahsoft’s curated list of Top 12 AI for Government Events is just the starting point. So, do not let the future intimidate you; embrace it. Dive into the possibilities, explore these AI tools, and get ready to redefine what a government event can be. Your citizens—and your data—will thank you.  

To learn more or get involved in any of the above events please contact us at AITeam@carahsoft.com. For more information on Carahsoft and our industry leading AI technology partners’ events, visit our AI solutions portfolio and events page. 

The Open Source Revolution in Government

Open source technology accounts for a significant portion of most modern applications, with some estimates going as high as 90%, and it is the foundation of many mainstream technologies. Its strength lies in the fact that a vibrant ecosystem of developers contribute to and continually improve the underlying code, which keeps the software dynamic and responsive to changing needs. Enterprise open source software further augments these community-driven projects by providing enterprise-grade support and scalability, while retaining the innovation and flexibility driven by the open source development model. By providing the best of both worlds, such solutions represent a powerful arsenal of tools for addressing government’s most pressing challenges. In a recent pulse survey of FCW readers, 93% of respondents said they were using open source technology. And more than half of respondents to FCW’s survey see open source as an integral resource for strengthening cybersecurity. That number reflects a positive trend toward a better understanding of open source software’s intrinsic approach to security. The power of enterprise open source technologies lies in a combination of collaboration, transparency and industry expertise. As agencies expand their use of such technologies, they maximize their ability to achieve mission success in the most secure, agile and innovative way possible. Learn how the combined power of community-driven innovation and industry-leading technical support is expanding the government’s capacity for transformation in Carahsoft’s Innovation in Government® report.

 

Why Open Source is a Mission-Critical Foundation  

IIG FCW Open Source Revolution November Blog Embedded Image 2022“Open source transforms the way agencies manage hybrid and multi-cloud environments. The most critical technology in the cloud, across all providers, is Linux. Everything is built on top of that foundation — both the infrastructure of the cloud and cloud offerings. Given the right partner, the promise of Linux is that it provides a consistent technology layer for agencies across all footprints, including multiple cloud providers, on-premises data centers and edge environments. From that foundation, agencies and their partners can build portable architectures that leverage other open source technologies. Portability gives organizations the ability to use the same architectures, underlying technologies, monitoring and security solutions, and human skills to manage mission-critical capabilities across all footprints.”

Read more insights from Christopher Smith, Vice President and General Manager of the North America Public Sector at Red Hat.

 

How Open Source is Expanding its Mission Reach

“The real power of open source technologies was revealed when they cracked the code on being highly powered, mission-specific, distributed systems. That’s how we are able to get insights out of data by being able to hold it and query it. Today, open source innovation is being accelerated by the cloud, and the conversation is still changing, with people now demanding that their open source companies be cloud-first platforms. Along the way, the open source technologies that start in the community and then receive a boost of commercial innovation have matured. The most powerful ones are expanding their ability to address more of the government’s mission needs. They are staying interoperable and keeping the data interchange non-proprietary, which is important for government agencies.”

Read more insights from David Erickson, Senior Director of Solutions Architecture at Elastic.

 

The Open Source Community’s Commitment to Security  

“A central tenet of software development is visibility and traceability from start to finish so that a developer can follow the code through development, testing, building and security compliance, and then into the final production environment. Along the way, there are some key activities that boost collaboration and positive outcomes, starting with early code previews, where developers can spin up an application for stakeholders to review. Other activities include documented code reviews by peers to ensure the code is well written and efficient. In addition, DevOps components such as open source, infrastructure as code, Kubernetes as a deployment mechanism, automated testing, and better platforms and capabilities have helped developers move away from building ecosystems and instead focus on innovation.”

Read more insights from Joel Krooswyk, Federal CTO at GitLab.

 

The Limitless Potential of an Open Source Database

“One of the most important elements of any database migration is ensuring that proper planning and due diligence have been performed to ensure a smooth and successful deployment. In addition, there are some key considerations agencies should keep in mind when moving to open source databases. It is essential to start with a clear understanding of the business case and objectives for adopting an open source approach. Agencies also need to decide how the database should function and what it should do to support their digital transformation. Then they must choose the optimal method to deploy the database.”

Read more insights from Jeremy A. Wilson, CTO of the North America Public Sector at EDB.

 

Modernizing Digital Services with Open Source

“A composable, open source digital experience platform (DXP) enables agencies to overcome those challenges. Open source technology is continuously contributed to by a community of developers to reflect a wide array of needs across organizations in varying industries and of varying sizes. A composable approach allows agencies to assemble a number of solutions for a fast, efficient system that is tailored to their needs. When agencies combine a composable DXP with open source technology, they have access to best-of-breed software and the ability to customize the assembly to suit their requirements. An enterprise DXP will enable agencies to achieve a 360-degree view of how constituents are engaging with their digital services and gain valuable data to understand how to enhance their experience. Finally, a composable, open source DXP provides a proactive approach to protecting against security and compliance vulnerabilities.”

Read more insights from Tami Pearlstein, Senior Product Marketing Manager at Acquia.

 

Creating Secure Open Source Repositories

“Protecting the software supply chain requires looking at every single thing that might come into an agency’s environment. To understand that level of visibility, I like to use the analogy of a refrigerator. All the ingredients necessary to make a cake or pie are in the refrigerator. We know they are of good quality, and other teams can use them instead of having to find their own. At Sonatype, our software equivalent of a refrigerator is the Nexus Repository Manager. A second aspect of our offering, called Lifecycle, allows us to evaluate the open source components in repositories at every stage of the software development life cycle. One piece of software can download a thousand other components. How do we know if one of those components is malicious?”

Read more insights from Maury Cupitt, Regional Vice President of Sales Engineering at Sonatype.

 

Better Data Flows for a Better Customer Experience

“A more responsive and personalized customer experience isn’t much different from the initial problem set that gave birth to Apache Kafka. When people interact with agencies, they want those agencies to know who they are and how they’ve interacted in the past. They don’t want to be asked for their Social Security number three times on the same phone call. They also expect that the information or service they receive will be the same whether they are accessing it over the phone, via a mobile app and on a website. To elevate the quality of their service, agencies must be able to stream information in a low-friction way so different systems are consistent with one another and up-to-date at all times, regardless of the communication channel an individual uses. President Joe Biden’s executive order about transforming the federal customer experience is based on this capability. The most successful companies across industries have figured out how to do it, and for the most part, they’ve done it with open source software.”

Read more insights from Jason Schick, General Manager of Confluent US Public Sector.

 

An Open Source Approach to Data Analytics

“For the past 40 years, agencies have used data warehouses to collect and analyze their data. Although those warehouses worked well, they were limited in what they could do. For instance, they could only handle structured data, but by some estimates, 90% of agencies’ data is unstructured and in the form of text, images, audio, video and the like. Furthermore, proprietary data warehouses can show agencies what has happened in the past but can’t predict what might happen in the future. To achieve the government’s goal of evidence-based decision-making, agencies need to be able to tap into all their data and predict what might come next.”

Read more insights from Howard Levenson, Regional Vice President at Databricks.

 

Download the full Innovation in Government® report for more insights from these open source thought leaders and additional industry research from FCW.