Weekly Roundup: March 31-April 4, 2025

Artificial Intelligence

DoE Zeros In on 16 AI Data Center Sites. The Trump administration has identified 16 sites on land owned by the Department of Energy (DoE) that would be suitable to build artificial intelligence data centers and is calling for input about industry’s interest in operating on those sites. DoE has been evaluating thousands of acres of federal land on which to locate data centers, with the aim of finding locations ideal for supporting rapid construction. The decision to use DoE lands was made, in part, to fast-track permitting for new energy generation, including nuclear power, according to the department. Construction could begin by the end of this year, with a target for completion by the end of 2027, following input from data center developers, energy investors and the broader public. 

AI on the Battlefield: Experts Share What’s Needed to Get to Reality. Industry experts agree that the future of warfare is automated, with a single human operator teaming with autonomous systems to carry out missions. But what steps need to be taken to get there?  AI and defense experts shared their insights into that question at a Hudson Institute event, saying that even though we have a long way to go until AI can be operationalized, efforts related to policy, data, and acquisition can move the United States closer to that capability. Scott Gilloon, sector vice president of Air Force Strategic Development at General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, said that one of those key steps is policy. 

Cybersecurity

CISA Warns of Fast Flux Technique in Latest Cybersecurity Advisory. Cyber threat actors are using a new cyber technique to evade detection and maintain resilient operations, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) said in a joint cybersecurity advisory issued on Thursday.  Fast flux, a domain-based technique that rapidly changes the domain name system (DNS) records associated with a single domain, is the latest threat spurring an advisory warning from CISA, the National Security Agency, the FBI, and international partners. 

Workforce

Kent: Federal Tech Workforce Upskilling is Linchpin to Progress. Former Federal CIO Suzette Kent said that upskilling the federal workforce is a “foundational linchpin” to the government’s developing strategy to move toward the adoption of more advanced and automation-driven technologies. “…Our workforce is the core of every one of the missions that that happens in government,” she said. “Our government is aspiring to have a leaner federal workforce and reduce dependence on contractors...They want to maximize the value of some of these commercial off-the-shelf, hardened platforms – platforms that globally can be used across many different agencies for common purposes,” she continued. Kent said there has been “repeated focus” on the widescale enterprise use of automation, AI, and data, adding, “When you stack all those together, if you don’t talk about the last piece of the puzzle, which is the workforce that knows what to do with all that stuff, and knows how to behave in that environment, you’re not going to achieve those other things.”

Efficiency

Appeals Court Halts Judge’s Order for DOGE Records. Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) scored a temporary win last week, with a Federal appeals court sparing them from revealing their spending-cut plans and authority – at least for now. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit granted a stay of Judge Tanya Chutkan’s order, which directed Elon Musk and DOGE to release records and answer questions about their authority and plans to trim Federal spending.

Leadership

When You’re Overloaded—and Delegating Isn’t an Option. If you and your team are too busy, it’s essential to take time to figure out how to work differently. Here are three key strategies you can use to reassess and reconfigure the work you do to free up vital time and energy for what matters: 1) Make sure your team really understands what “good enough” looks like. 2) Identify and eliminate hidden low-value tasks. 3) Strategically reduce your availability.

How to Prevent Strategy Fatigue. Strategy fatigue is a phenomenon that’s on the rise. Recent studies show a notable increase in the frequency of strategy shifts. To reduce this danger, CEOs need to impose some discipline on the growing tendency to try out the strategy du jour. Before inflicting their shiny new ideas on their people, they should: (1) Use clear screening criteria to evaluate whether a new idea or project aligns with the company’s strategic direction; (2) Apply data-based scoring frameworks to rank ideas by impact and feasibility; (3) Set up proof-of-concept experiments; and (4) Maintain a single, visible pipeline.

Defense

Pentagon Launches New Data Integration Experiments. The Department of Defense (DoD) Chief Data and AI Office (CDAO) has launched a new series of experiments aimed at improving data integration and ensuring operators can fully leverage advanced command-and-control (C2) capabilities, according to a senior Pentagon tech official. Lindsey Sheppard, director of the CDAO’s Advanced Command and Control Accelerator, said the office is launching a new series of focused exercises called GIDE X. These experiments are a spin-off of the larger Global Information Dominance Experiment (GIDE), which is a recurring 90-day event designed to test capabilities that connect forces across multiple domains in real-world operational settings. GIDE X will address integration challenges that can prevent operators from fully leveraging the advanced capabilities developed through the larger GIDE events.

Joint Chiefs Nominee Urges Changes in DoD Budget, Requirements Process. Air Force Lt. Gen. Dan Caine, who is President Trump’s nominee to be the next Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman, told lawmakers today that the Department of Defense’s (DoD) budget and requirements process need significant reforms to better address evolving threats facing the United States. “We must have a sense of urgency related to the budget. I think it comes down to ultimately finding more deployable or allocatable capital,” Caine said during a hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee. Caine pledged to collaborate with the Trump administration to ensure defense budgets balance capabilities and capacity for current and future threats.

Veterans

Lawmakers Call for Updated Cost Estimate of EHRM Program. Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, is leading a bipartisan group of lawmakers in requesting the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) submit an updated schedule and cost estimate to Congress for the agency’s Electronic Health Record Modernization (EHRM) program. In a letter that was made public this week, the group of lawmakers asked VA Secretary Doug Collins to provide necessary details to help Congress fully assess the EHRM program.