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Health authorities in densely-populated Hong Kong and Singapore have warned that Covid-19 cases are spiking, as a resurgent wave spreads through Asia. Bloomberg: The virus' activity in Hong Kong is now "quite high," Albert Au, head of the Communicable Disease Branch of the city's Center for Health Protection, told local media this week. The percentage of respiratory samples testing Covid-positive in Hong Kong recently reached its highest in a year. Severe cases -- including deaths -- also reached its highest level in about a year to 31 in the week through May 3, the center's data shows. While the resurgence is yet to match the infection peaks seen in the past two years, rising viral load found in sewage water and Covid-related medical consultations and hospitalizations suggest the virus is actively spreading in the city of over 7 million people. Rival financial hub Singapore is also on Covid alert. The city-state's health ministry released its first update on infection numbers in almost a year this month, as the estimated number of cases jumped 28% to 14,200 in the week through May 3 from the previous seven days while daily hospitalization rose around 30%. Singapore now only provides case updates when there is a noticeable spike.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

The Department of the Air Force is laying the groundwork for a new Artificial Intelligence Center of Excellence aimed at fast-tracking the adoption of AI-enabled capabilities across the service.

Officials expect the center to reach initial operating capability by the end of 2025 and achieve full operational capability by mid-2026.

“The Center of Excellence will shorten the timeline between prototype and mission adoption by bringing together the personnel, resources and authorities to create operational efficiencies, develop policy to break down barriers and speed AI adoption, while ensuring AI capabilities support Department of Defense priorities,” Air Force spokesperson Laura McAndrews told Federal News Network.

The department’s chief data and artificial intelligence office, led by Susan Davenport, and members of the Data & AI Board will oversee the new center of excellence. A formal plan for the center has already been drafted and is currently being reviewed by key stakeholders across the department.

“We have focused on meeting with key stakeholders across the Air Force and Space Force to create an initial list of AI-related ‘hard problems’ as use cases for the Center of Excellence to address,” McAndrews said.

The CDAO is assigning some of its personnel to support the center’s core team and partnering with industry and academia to help develop the processes that will guide its operations. While the center’s exact structure is still being finalized, it will include cross-functional subject matter experts focused on developing AI-enabled capabilities.

Outgoing Air Force Chief Information Officer Venice Goodwine announced the initiative during a keynote at the AFCEA TechNet Cyber conference in Baltimore on May 7. She said the center will help ensure AI development and implementation is coordinated and mission-driven. 

“We’re establishing a Department of the Air Force Artificial Intelligence Center of Excellence. And the reason we’re doing that is because AI has a continuum,” Goodwine said. “Yes, I can use AI for summarizing briefs in the legal world. I can use AI for productivity, but I also can use AI for AI-enabled autonomy. So when you have a continuum that broad, how do you make sure that the use cases, the tools that you use, the investment that you’re making enable the strategic objectives? The AI Center of Excellence in the Air Force is going to do that.” 

The center is not a training program, McAndrews said, but it will inevitably play a role in workforce development as part of its mission to scale AI capabilities.

“The Center of Excellence will approach these issues as it would any technical challenge — by identifying root causes and integrating solutions into delivery pipelines. The center will work closely with Air Education and Training Command and functional managers to develop AI competencies that are foundational to fielding AI capabilities, enabling both real-time problem solving and the immediate application of new skills by Airmen and Guardians,” she said.

The Air Force already operates an AI accelerator in partnership with the Massachusetts Institutes of Technology, that leverages universities, small businesses, traditional defense contractors and non-traditional companies to develop AI solutions for the service. Meanwhile, the Department of the Air Force-Stanford AI Studio was created to address the service’s autonomy needs.

“By defining problems and shaping research, requirements and testing, we’re scaling AI and autonomy across the Air Force and Space Force, leveraging Stanford University School of Engineering expertise and Silicon Valley’s ecosystem to deliver impactful solutions,” the DUFF-Stanford AI Studio said.

The post Air Force launches AI Center of Excellence to speed up AI adoption first appeared on Federal News Network.