AI-in-Gov Inside the Black Box

Security, Trust, and the AI Arms Race in Education – Part 2

Welcome to AI in Gov: Inside the Black Box. This podcast series explores the transformative role of artificial intelligence in government, with a focus on innovation, collaboration, and impact.
In this episode of AI-in-Gov: Inside the Black Box, Richard Jacik and Amarda Shehu are joined by VJ Rao of Fairfax County Public Schools to explore how AI is reshaping safety, security, and trust in education. From real-world K–12 threat assessments and cyber investigations to privacy tradeoffs, misinformation, and AI being used on both sides of the threat equation, the conversation examines why cyber and physical security are now inseparable—and why humans must remain firmly in the loop.
To connect with VJ Rao, follow him on LinkedIn here.
Connect with host Amarda Shehu on LinkedIn here.Connect with host Richard Jacik on LinkedIn here.For more information about the GMU AI-in-Gov Council, follow them on LinkedIn here.

Security, Trust, and the AI Arms Race in Education – Part 1

Welcome to AI in Gov: Inside the Black Box. This podcast series explores the transformative role of artificial intelligence in government, with a focus on innovation, collaboration, and impact.
In this episode of AI-in-Gov: Inside the Black Box, Richard Jacik and Amarda Shehu are joined by VJ Rao of Fairfax County Public Schools to explore how AI is reshaping safety, security, and trust in education. From real-world K–12 threat assessments and cyber investigations to privacy tradeoffs, misinformation, and AI being used on both sides of the threat equation, the conversation examines why cyber and physical security are now inseparable—and why humans must remain firmly in the loop.
To connect with VJ Rao, follow him on LinkedIn here.
Connect with host Amarda Shehu on LinkedIn here.Connect with host Richard Jacik on LinkedIn here.For more information about the GMU AI-in-Gov Council, follow them on LinkedIn here.
This episode is sponsored by Brillient.

People, Place, and Power: Confronting Bias in AI Systems

Welcome to AI in Gov: Inside the Black Box. This podcast series explores the transformative role of artificial intelligence in government, with a focus on innovation, collaboration, and impact.
In this episode of AI-in-Gov: Inside the Black Box, hosts Richard Jacik and Amarda Shehu are joined by Dr. Rashawn Ray, Vice President at the American Institutes for Research, to examine how bias and inequality can be embedded—and amplified—by AI systems. Drawing on real-world examples from law enforcement training, hiring technologies, education, and generative AI, the conversation explores why AI often mirrors existing societal power structures, why simply instructing systems “not to be biased” is insufficient, and how thoughtful design, evaluation, and guardrails can help mitigate harm. The episode highlights the importance of considering people and place in AI development and underscores the shared responsibility of government, industry, and academia to ensure AI serves the public good rather than deepening existing inequities.
To connect with Dr. Rashawn Ray, follow him on LinkedIn here.
Connect with host Amarda Shehu on LinkedIn here.Connect with host Richard Jacik on LinkedIn here.For more information about the GMU AI-in-Gov Council, follow them on LinkedIn here.
This episode is sponsored by Moara.io.

Beyond the Reading List: AI, Policy, and Explainability in Government

In this episode of AI-in-Gov: Inside the Black Box, hosts Amarda Shehu and Richard Jacik sit down with Rich Heimann, South Carolina’s inaugural Director of AI and author of a forthcoming book inspired by Ilya Sutskever’s legendary reading list, to explore the realities of building and governing AI at state scale. Heimann traces his path from DARPA and computational social science to leading one of the nation’s emerging statewide AI programs, breaking down how agencies evaluate use cases, measure risk, and wrestle with explainability in an era of increasingly opaque models.
To connect with Rich, follow him on LinkedIn here.
Connect with host Amarda Shehu on LinkedIn here.Connect with host Richard Jacik on LinkedIn here.For more information about the GMU AI-in-Gov Council, follow them on LinkedIn here.
This episode is sponsored by Solution Street.
 

Teaching Machines Morals: Psychology Meets AI

Welcome to AI in Gov: Inside the Black Box. This podcast series explores the transformative role of artificial intelligence in government, with a focus on innovation, collaboration, and impact.
In this episode of AI-in-Gov: Inside the Black Box, hosts Amarda Shehu and Richard Jacik sit down with Dr. Elizabeth “Beth” Phillips of George Mason University to explore how psychology and human factors shape the development of AI and autonomous systems. They discuss Beth’s research on human-machine interaction, diving into why human-likeness affects trust, discomfort, and the multiple “uncanny valleys” that can emerge. With insight and humor, the conversation also examines emerging challenges around machine morality, norm learning, agency, and explainable AI—topics with significant implications for government and defense.
To connect with Beth, follow her on LinkedIn ⁠here⁠.
Connect with host Amarda Shehu on LinkedIn ⁠here⁠. Connect with host Richard Jacik on LinkedIn ⁠here⁠. For more information about the GMU AI-in-Gov Council, follow them on LinkedIn ⁠here⁠.
This episode is sponsored by ⁠Alapient⁠. 

Lessons from the Frontlines of GovCon Innovation

In this episode of AI-in-Gov: Inside the Black Box, hosts Amarda Shehu and Richard Jacik sit down with David Blackburn, founder and CEO of OrangeSlices.ai, to explore how AI, open data, and human expertise are reshaping the government contracting landscape. From navigating misinformation to building trust and transparency, Blackburn shares how his team curates reliable intelligence for the GovCon community and why success often depends as much on business models as on technology. Tune in for candid insights, a few laughs, and an honest look at what’s working—and what’s not—on the frontlines of AI-driven innovation in government.
To connect with David, follow him on LinkedIn here.
Connect with host Amarda Shehu on LinkedIn here.Connect with host Richard Jacik on LinkedIn here.For more information about the GMU AI-in-Gov Council, follow them on LinkedIn here.
This episode is sponsored by Moara.io.

Inside Responsible AI: Ethics at the Speed of Innovation

Welcome to AI in Gov: Inside the Black Box. This podcast series explores the transformative role of artificial intelligence in government, with a focus on innovation, collaboration, and impact.
In this episode of AI in Gov: Inside the Black Box, hosts Amarda Shehu and Richard Jacik sit down with Jesse Kirkpatrick, Research Associate Professor and Co-Director of the Mason Autonomy and Robotics Center, to explore what it really means to build responsible AI in a world moving at the speed of innovation. From the shifting federal landscape around AI safety and national security to the philosophical and practical challenges of aligning machines with human values, Kirkpatrick offers a candid look at the tensions between ethics, autonomy, and rapid deployment.
To connect with Jesse, follow him on LinkedIn here.
Connect with host Amarda Shehu on LinkedIn here.Connect with host Richard Jacik on LinkedIn here.For more information about the GMU AI-in-Gov Council, follow them on LinkedIn here.
This episode is sponsored by Brilllient.
 

AI in Healthcare: Trust, Risk, and the Future of Patient Conversations

Welcome to AI in Gov: Inside the Black Box. This podcast series explores the transformative role of artificial intelligence in government, with a focus on innovation, collaboration, and impact.
In this episode of AI in Gov: Inside the Black Box, hosts Amarda Shehu and Richard Jacik talk with Kevin Lybarger about how AI is transforming healthcare. They discuss how large language models can simulate patient interactions, support mental health and medical training, and help build trust between humans and machines—while weighing the risks and rewards of bringing empathy into AI-driven care.
Connect with host Amarda Shehu on LinkedIn here.Connect with host Richard Jacik on LinkedIn here.For more information about the GMU AI-in-Gov Council, follow them on LinkedIn here.
This episode is sponsored by Solution Street.
 

Trust, Guardrails, and the Future of AI in Government

In this episode of AI in Gov: Inside the Black Box, hosts Amarda Shehu and Richard Jacik sit down with Dominic Delmolino, Vice President of Field Technology and Engineering for Amazon Web Services’ Worldwide Public Sector. Together, they explore how government agencies can build trust in AI systems through transparency, verification, and well-designed guardrails. Dominic shares insights on innovations in AI hardware, the evolving relationship between accuracy and oversight, and how AWS is helping organizations strike the right balance between innovation, efficiency, and accountability.
To connect with Dominic Delmolino, follow him on LinkedIn here.
Connect with host Amarda Shehu on LinkedIn here.Connect with host Richard Jacik on LinkedIn here.For more information about the GMU AI-in-Gov Council, follow them on LinkedIn here.
This episode is sponsored by Alapient.

When AI Meets the Physical World: Intuitive Physics and the Next Frontier

Welcome to AI in Gov: Inside the Black Box. This podcast series explores the transformative role of artificial intelligence in government, with a focus on innovation, collaboration, and impact.
In this episode of AI in Gov: Inside the Black Box, hosts Amarda Shehu and Richard Jacik talk with Jana Kosecka, Professor of Computer Science at George Mason University, about how AI is beginning to understand and interact with the physical world. They dive into the latest advances in computer vision, 3D reconstruction, and “world models” that help machines learn intuitive physics and make better real-world decisions.
To connect with Jana, follow her on LinkedIn here.
Connect with host Amarda Shehu on LinkedIn here.Connect with host Richard Jacik on LinkedIn here.For more information about the GMU AI-in-Gov Council, follow them on LinkedIn here.
This episode is sponsored by Moara.