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AI.gov

ai.gov

161–170 of 266 posts

Re: AI.gov

#161
post #48

So far the support of Apple, Google, Microsoft, Facebook and Cisco/Akami have given the US government a business, intelligence, and social engineering platform the likes the world has never seen before, and still people today wildly undervalue its power in the world today. They have effectively deplatformed Europe, South America, the Middle East and Asia, put anyone but China within second reach from a mass data coll…

> "America's global brain drain might have been the single most effective strategy" The website has a section titled "Bring your AI Skills to the U.S.", and then a button with this label "Learn about pathways to work in the U.S.". This is very encouraging. And it reminded me of Eric Schmidt's recommendation on this topic [1], which was published on the final report of the National Security Commission on Artificial In…

I find that very interesting given Eric Schmidt took citizenship in Cyprus, and to my knowledge, not because he has any prior tie to that country. If he really believed in the U.S. then he shouldn’t be getting late-in-life (post-billionaire) citizenship elsewhere.

Re: AI.gov

#162

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No one else is really capable of making this technology at the level of the US, besides maybe China. Europe has the brainpower for sure, but they don't seem to be able to leverage it into actual innovation.

European technologists and engineers are hamstrung by EU regulations.

Is it really regulation? Or is it financing, laws about firing, cultural approaches to work, or a myriad of other differences?

Re: AI.gov

#163
post #113

I was a Presidential Innovation Fellow for almost three years at FDA / Veterans Affairs, happy to answer any questions. The program is looking for industry experiences to better inform and shape government policies.

Do you have any tips on how to stand out in the crowd? What is the government looking for in an application, generally?

To echo wslack, experiences with moving initiatives through grit and collegiality is key. The PIF program is a bit easier to apply for than USAjobs and really focuses on being more of an entrepreneur-in-residence, as much as that’s possible in government. I was able to work horizontally in a way that would have been challenging otherwise.

Re: AI.gov

#164

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Those LCA applications aren’t 1-1 with H1B quota numbers. Eg after 3 years when renewing a H1B the employer needs to file an LCA but that won’t count against the cap. Similar for H1B transfers and renewals past 6 years. Overall the claim that Amazon takes 25 percent of H1Bs is extremely incorrect.

What percent do they take?

I believe there is no publicly available data that allows one to calculate the exact percent of new H-1B numbers used by a specific company.

But if I go into USCIS's H-1 data hub, I can find some information. For FY-2022 Amazon had 12.5k petitions approved. But drilling into the data we see that less than 4k of those were for _new_ petitions - the others were extensions of existing petitions. 4k out of the H-1B quota is less than 5% (there are 85k new H-1B visas per year). But even that is an overestimate because a new employee transferring to Amazon will require a new petition but won't count against the quota.

Overall, the best guess would be that Amazon use low single digits percent.

Re: AI.gov

#165

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was recruited by, and damn near did a tour with USDS. I ended up passing on it. They wanted an "entrepreneur in residence" to help drive change, which sounded great to me. Then they did the whole "we need you to keep in a cup" thing. I wouldn't have had any problem passing the test, but I told the recruiter "this is where the change needs to start". There's no way I can attract and retain good technical talent if w…

[flagged]

Pee in a cup - drug test.

Re: AI.gov

#168
post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why did you assume that everyone is motivated by money? After $100k, what difference does it make for one's happiness? Personally, I wouldn't want such a shallow individual working in my government.

That's something someone would say that has never made 500k before :)

Yeah, you don't have to spend it. Save it and retire early. Donate it all to a charity you believe in. Send your kids to the best school. Buy a nice home. Travel the world. The high salary only allows more options, it doesn't close any doors.

(Just be careful about "getting used to it" and ending up having to change your lifestyle if market conditions change.)

Re: AI.gov

#169

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No one else is really capable of making this technology at the level of the US, besides maybe China. Europe has the brainpower for sure, but they don't seem to be able to leverage it into actual innovation.

European technologists and engineers are hamstrung by EU regulations.

…and I would’ve gotten away with it if it weren’t for those darn regulators!

The US used to have consumer focused regulators too, but they have been undermined for long enough to neutralize the threat to monopolistic megacorps.

Re: AI.gov

#170

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was recruited by, and damn near did a tour with USDS. I ended up passing on it. They wanted an "entrepreneur in residence" to help drive change, which sounded great to me. Then they did the whole "we need you to keep in a cup" thing. I wouldn't have had any problem passing the test, but I told the recruiter "this is where the change needs to start". There's no way I can attract and retain good technical talent if w…

I mean no offense, but this is sort of, with regard to your principles at least, cutting off one's nose to spite one's face? I get that incremental reform is frustrating, but here you had a chance to enter an org you know needed changes, and you blew it because you refused to take a basic drug test that you openly state you could've passed easily. Like, it's bullshit that they asked, it is an invasion of privacy, it…

Almost all bad business practices were ended by labor refusing to comply with them, not complying to get the job and then somehow changing it within. I think that on top of not taking a massive pay cut, not submitting to a test that can flag you as an opiate addict to the government for life if you ate a poppyseed bagel in the morning is reasonable.
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