An uptick in the frequency of UFO sightings over the past 18 months has prompted discussions in both the federal government and private sector surrounding the security and safety of our communities. In this special session, Nextgov Reporter Brandi Vincent sits down for an exclusive interviews with Lue Elizondo  for an in-depth look at how technology is affecting this high-stakes issue.

An uptick in the frequency of UFO sightings over the past 18 months has prompted discussions in both the federal government and private sector surrounding the security and safety of our communities. In this special session, Nextgov Reporter Brandi Vincent sits down for an exclusive interview Former Sentaor Harry Reid (D-NV) for an in-depth look at how technology is affecting this high-stakes issue.

The latest technology applications like Virtual Reality, Artificial Intelligence, and Edge Computing provide amazing opportunities for the future.  But the technologies also raise concerns about security as data is collected and digested at unprecedented rates and retrieved from a growing number of system endpoints.  Bruce Blaho, HP Fellow & VP Chief Technologist, Advanced Compute & Solutions, discusses some of the key impacts of these emerging technologies and applications to governments, along with some of the associated security risks and how to mitigate them.

Recent innovations in VR and AR have driven medical practices of all kinds into the 21st century, allowing everything from sutures to surgeries access to the latest in VR and AR technologies. In this session, Brandi Vincent sits down with Dr. Thomas Osborne, MD, Director of the National Center for Collaborative Healthcare Innovation (NCCHI) and Chief Medical Informatics Officer (CMIO) at VA Palo Alto Health Care System for a discussion on his work leading these issues, and what he sees as the future of medicine at the VA and beyond.

The health IT community is poised to grow with an $80 million program from the Health and Human Services Department to attract and train a new crop of diverse health technology experts. In this session, Frank Konkel sits down with Emerging Tech Clinical Specialist Dr. Anne Bailey to talk about what steps the VHA is taking to develop and share the latest innovations in augmented and extended reality with patients across the country.

Hear from Anthony Robbins, VP of Federal at NVIDIA, discuss the latest technologies powering the AI revolution for use across the US federal government. Learn how AI can find answers to the barriers limiting citizen service and government advancement, and how NVIDIA’s full stack computing platform enables any federal data set to become a mission game changer.

As technology continues to advance at a breathtaking pace, it’s essential that its development and application remain equitable for individuals and communities across all backgrounds. In this session, we’ll hear from some of the leaders in artificial intelligence to hear more about the inherent biases behind much of its design and learn how it can be implemented in a way that doesn’t just overcome its own limitations, but advances government causes and equal treatment for all.

AI. ML. 5G. Quantum. It’s only a matter of time before these emerging technologies are adopted across government. But if we look at where digital transformation has taken us, we’re facing more cyber attacks than ever before – because we’re adopting new technologies. Though we must continue to accelerate our research, investment, and adoption of emerging technologies, how can we ensure resiliency in the face of increasingly sophisticated cyber attacks?

Cyberattacks on private companies may make them tempted to hack back with their government's tacit approval when they suspect nation states are responsible. But is the U.S. really ready for this? Officials already describe cyberattacks as being increasingly hybrid—where adversarial nation states work through criminal gangs—and without clear determination of who's behind them, a legitimized tit for tat could quickly escalate out of control. In this session, Nextgov correspondent Mariam Baksh speaks with former Federal Prosecutor and Cybersecurity Expert Chris Painter federal space for a discussion on the past, present, and future of this important issue.

How does an agency achieve a zero trust security posture as quickly as possible? With a number of rapid-paced deadline to keep them moving forward, speed-to-adoption is often a challenge. Runtime tools help fill in the gaps by automating the process of adapting security controls to currently running environments. In this discussion, Michael Eply, chief architect and security strategist at Red Hat, and Andy Clemenko, Principle Session Solution Architect, will give agencies their top tips for utilizing Kubernetes and open source software to implement zero trust, faster. 

In these unique spotlight sessions, Nextgov sits down with leaders at the bleeding edge of next generation technology for a look at their field. In this session, hear from federal and private leaders in commercial space flight to learn about how they’re approaching the next generation of manned missions to the final frontier.