The Government Accountability Office’s Center for Strategic Foresight had its coming-out party earlier this month, establishing what the group would like to be an annual conference about the biggest technological trends and issues that should be on lawmakers’ radar.
Since the center launched in late 2017, GAO has established other, more focused technology groups. But James-Christian Blockwood, managing director of the Office of Strategic Planning and External Liaison, of which the center is a part, said the group plans to maintain a broader scope, complementing efforts like those of the new Science, Technology Assessment and Analytics team, which is taking a more direct advisory role for lawmakers.
“The deeper dive into, say, quantum computing, being able to understand what that is and what that really means, there are other parts of GAO, such as our new Science, Technology Assessment and Analytics team that can provide that information,” Blockwood said. “The center itself cannot answer all of those [questions] unilaterally and independently. But working with other organizations within GAO, it certainly can provide that full picture of raising awareness, understanding broad trends, how it’s interacting with other trends, the implications, opportunities and challenges.”
That said, Blockwood said there aren’t any hard dividing lines between the groups.
“It is very important to ensure that those in Congress understand—and have a good understanding of—emerging issues and trends,” he said. “It is easier said than done to keep track of not only what’s on the horizon—what’s coming up in the next five, 10, 15, 20 years—but how those are interacting with other trends, particularly in technology, but not just in technology.”
The center’s goal will be to look at these trends from a broader per ..
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