Weekly Round Up: September 29-October 3, 2025

Artificial Intelligence

CAISI Report Finds American AI Dominates, DeepSeek Lags. The Trump administration ordered the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to compare DeepSeek to leading U.S. artificial intelligence models, revealing that the United States is outperforming China. A report from the Center for AI Standards and Innovation (CAISI) said that three of China’s DeepSeek AI models fell behind four American AI models “across almost every benchmark,” noting that it especially outpaced the DeepSeek model in performance, cost, security, and adoption. 

State Department Unveils AI Strategy to Modernize Diplomacy. The State Department says it will equip its diplomats with artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities and improve its data infrastructure under its newly released 2026 AI plan. “The Department of State recognizes the profound opportunity to harness data and AI to redefine diplomacy,” said Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources Michael Rigas. “With the launch of our combined Enterprise Data and AI Strategy, we are poised to unlock a new era of diplomatic innovation.”  Released Sept. 30, the State Department’s two-goal plan laid out priorities for “cutting-edge statecraft for 21st century challenges” and “technological adoption through strategic enablement.”  

VA Plans Gradual AI Rollout in Federal EHR. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) released an updated artificial intelligence (AI) strategy this week that includes plans to incorporate AI in the Federal Electronic Health Record (EHR) as AI tools are validated. The VA’s strategy lays out five priority areas to help the agency “execute on the AI opportunity.” Those priority areas include expanding employee access to AI tools, reimagining major workflows using AI, investing in foundational data and infrastructure for AI…These tools are real, effective, and ready to be used to improve how the [VA] delivers care and benefits.”

DHS and Intelligence Agencies Move Toward AI-Powered Cyber Intelligence. The White House’s America’s AI Action Plan gives the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the intelligence community (IC) a timely nudge. For program leaders trying to turn pilots into production, that policy tailwind sets the stage for a shift from reactive cyber operations to AI-enabled cyber intelligence that finds weak signals early and prioritizes what to fix first. That shift – and what it looks like on the ground – was the focus of a recent conversation with two General Dynamics Information Technology (GDIT) leaders supporting DHS and the IC.

DARPA Official Highlights AI Security Gaps. Artificial intelligence (AI) presents a growing set of cybersecurity vulnerabilities that extend beyond traditional software threats, according to Matthew Turek, deputy director of the Information Innovation Office at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). Speaking in the latest episode of the Billington CyberSecurity Cyber and AI Outlook Series, hosted by Federal News Network on Sept. 30, Turek addressed the complex and evolving risks posed by AI systems. While AI shares many of the same vulnerabilities as conventional software, it introduces unique challenges that require new security strategies, Turek emphasized. Among these is the susceptibility to adversarial attacks, such as attempts to manipulate AI systems making unintended or incorrect decisions.

The Pentagon’s Push From Lab to Operational AI.  Department of Defense (DOD) IT leaders overwhelmingly view artificial intelligence (AI) as mission-critical and are taking a range of steps to scale deployments. The Pentagon realigned the Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office (CDAO) under the Under Secretary for Research and Engineering (USD(R&E)). The realignment marked the Pentagon’s next step in an “AI-first” strategy aimed at unifying efforts to accelerate artificial intelligence and data modernization across the military. The report, From Sandbox to Scale: The People, Processes, and Platforms Needed to Accelerate AI Across the DoD, finds that 95% of respondents call AI essential to mission success, and 97% already credit generative AI (GenAI) with measurable productivity gains.

Technology

OPM Invests $12M in Technology Development Fund. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) underspent its budget in fiscal year (FY) 2025 by about $38 million in appropriated funds and decided to invest $12 million of the excess funding in its technology development fund, OPM Director Scott Kupor announced today. In a Sept. 30 blog post, Kupor explained that while government agencies oftentimes rush to spend, or “allocate,” those dollars before the end of the fiscal year, OPM took a different approach this year. With the leftover funds, Kupor said that OPM decided to make “our maximum contribution (~$12 million) to our technology development fund.”

Leadership

When Managing Your Team Becomes Too Much.  Your team needs you, but you’re exhausted. You need to focus on the big picture, but you can’t move past the daily firefight. This is the classic trap of leadership: The more indispensable you become, the less time and capacity you have to lead. Meanwhile, the strategic work that needs your attention gets pushed aside. So how do you break this cycle? Here are strategies from five different experts on how to step back without everything falling apart.

Senior Leaders Still Need Learning and Development.  HR leadership and the most senior leaders can set their newest executives—and their organizations—up for success by 1) Normalizing executive onboarding; 2) building peer-coaching opportunities; 3) facilitating reflection early and often; 4) introducing focused 360s at key intervals; and 5) formalizing upstream mentoring and coaching.

How to Coach Yourself Through Complex Problems. Leaders today are facing more complexity, faster change, and higher expectations than ever. But budget cuts, approval bottlenecks, and cultural barriers can put the executive coaching that could help them navigate all this uncertainty out of reach. This is where self-coaching can come in as a critical skillset that enables leaders to support themselves, especially in high-stakes, high-pressure moments. The SOLVE framework presents a simple but effective way for leaders to move through complex problems—one that encourages them to take a step back, work out what’s going on, and then move forward confidently but cautiously in a way that fits their specific situation.

How to Lead with Courage in Chaotic Times.  Courage involves taking bold action despite uncertainty and fear. In a volatile business environment, it’s hard to be brave. But Ranjay Gulati, a professor at Harvard Business School, says that there are strategies any of us can use to get improve our ability to make smart bets on the future. He’s studied dozens of leaders across industries and explains how they embolden themselves and their organizations by building a positive narrative around the mission, cultivating self-confidence, stepping their way into a better understanding of the situation, finding connection, and staying calm. Gulati wrote the HBR article “Now is the Time for Courage” and the book How To Be Bold: The Surprising Science of Everyday Courage.

Cybersecurity

CISA’s Andersen: Agency Is Refocusing on Core Cyber Defense. Nick Andersen, executive assistant director of the Cybersecurity Division at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. He said the agency is narrowing its focus to core cyber defense duties after years of mission creep, emphasizing the need to protect federal networks, safeguard critical infrastructure, and push manufacturers to develop technology that is “secure by design.” , said that before joining the agency last month, he wanted to focus on the responsibilities of an overburdened workforce before taking on new roles.  

Space Force

Space Force’s ATLAS Is Operational, Boosts Space Awareness. The U.S. Space Force has formally approved the Advanced Tracking and Launch Analysis System (ATLAS) – a software-driven program for managing, processing, and sharing space monitoring data – for operational use. ATLAS is designed to provide enhanced situational awareness and improve decision-making in an increasingly contested space environment. The system is expected to eventually replace the decades-old Space Defense Operations Center (SPADOC), which has been used to track satellites, spacecraft, and hazardous space debris even after nearly two decades of failed replacement efforts, by providing a modernized and integrated platform to support space operations centers.

National Science Foundation

NSF Invests $30M to Build Next-Gen STEM Research Hubs. The National Science Foundation (NSF) is investing around $30 million in institutions across several states to establish research centers in science and technology that will bolster efforts in semiconductors and biotechnology.  The soon-to-be-built NSF EPSCoR Centers of Research Excellence in Science and Technology aim to “expand STEM knowledge, enhance research productivity and attract more students from those regions into STEM fields,” said NSF officials in a press release. 

Oversight

GAO: Half of Federal Agencies Fall Short on Contract Data Reporting. According to the Government Accountability Officer (GAO), only half of all federal agencies reporting to the Federal Procurement Data System (FPDS) can ensure complete data quality reports. GAO warns that those gaps are undermining federal transparency and require immediate corrective action.  The recent GAO report that only 36 out of 70 agencies completed required data quality reports in fiscal year 2023 before reporting back to the federal government’s central database that tracks and reports federal contract spending. Those remaining 34 agencies accounted for almost $2 billion in contract obligations, and either did not complete a report or did not respond to requests for a copy of that report, GAO found.

THIS WEEK @ THE CENTER 

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ICYMI –  GenAI and the Future of Government Work: A Conversation with Professor Bill Resh. This week Michael Keegan welcomes Prof. William Resh to discuss his new IBM Center Report and explore how Generative AI (GenAI) is altering how we work, what federal agencies are doing to strategically integrating GenAI into their workforce planning, and how GenAI serves as a collaborative partner, enhancing human capabilities and driving efficiency without displacing the critical human judgment.