WASHINGTON, May 13, 2024
/PRNewswire/ -- NASA Administrator Bill
Nelson on Monday named David
Salvagnini as the agency's new chief artificial intelligence
(AI) officer, effective immediately. The role is an expansion of
Salvagnini's current role as chief data officer.
A wide variety of AI tools are used by NASA to benefit humanity
from supporting missions and research projects across the agency,
analyzing data to reveal trends and patterns, and developing
systems capable of supporting spacecraft and aircraft
autonomously.
"Artificial intelligence has been safely used at NASA for
decades, and as this technology expands, it can accelerate the pace
of discovery," said Nelson. "It's important that we remain at the
forefront of advancement and responsible use. In this new role,
David will lead NASA's efforts to guide our agency's responsible
use of AI in the cosmos and on Earth to benefit all
humanity."
This appointment is in accordance with President Biden's
Executive Order on the Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development
and Use of Artificial Intelligence. Salvagnini now is responsible
for aligning the strategic vision and planning for AI usage across
NASA. He serves as a champion for AI innovation, supporting the
development and risk management of tools, platforms, and
training.
In his expanded capacity, Salvagnini will continue NASA's
collaboration with other government agencies, academic
institutions, industry partners, and other experts to ensure the
agency is on the cutting edge of AI technology.
Salvagnini joined NASA in June
2023 after more than 20 years working in technology
leadership in the intelligence community. Prior to his role at
NASA, he served the Office of the Director of National Intelligence
as director of the architecture and integration group and chief
architect.
Salvagnini also worked in a variety of roles leading enterprise
level IT research and development, engineering, and operations
advancing data, IT, and artificial intelligence programs. David
served in the Air Force for 21 years, retiring in May 2005 as a communications and computer systems
officer.
NASA continues developing recommendations on leveraging emerging
AI technology to best serve our goals and missions, from sifting
through Earth science imagery to identifying areas of interest, to
searching for data on planets outside our solar system from NASA's
James Webb Space Telescope, scheduling communications from the
Perseverance Mars rover through the Deep Space Network, and
more.
Prior to Salvagnini's appointment, the agency's Chief Scientist
Kate Calvin served as
NASA's acting responsible AI official.
Learn more about artificial intelligence at NASA at:
https://www.nasa.gov/artificial-intelligence
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SOURCE NASA