NASA gets its own Chief AI Officer

Whether you believe AI is the future of humanity’s next greatest step or it will slowly destroy the world, it is here to stay. NASA believes this too as this week they announced they have appointed one of their chief civil servants to the role of Chief AI Officer.

David Salvagnini, who was NASA’s Chief Data Officer, was appointed the agency’s first ever Chief AI Officer effective immediately, on Monday. In a press release announcing the appointment, the reason NASA needs its own AI specialist is due to President Biden’s Executive Order on the Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence, which lays out certain guidelines government agencies must abide by when using AI.

Salvagnini’s expanded duties will now consist of promoting safe use of and innovation in AI and machine learning at NASA.

The agency is already well along in its way in using AI to improve what it can with its mission of space exploration and aviation research. However, much of its endeavors have remained here on Earth. The agency plans to continue its focus on how to improve systems here on Earth with AI to make better decisions, in the air or in space.

One exception to that has been on Mars, where AI is regularly used for automated roving of the Red Planet’s crater-filled terrain.

The private sector is also attempting to make strides in the use of AI not just here on Earth, but in space. Its use could greatly help improve the safety of large satellite constellations, or speed up data delivery for Earth observation missions.

However, it does not seem like the rigors of spaceflight and space operations are suitable yet for the chips needed for on-orbit AI operations. Between the increased power usage, damaging radiation, and the extreme climates the hardware is exposed to, the chip manufacturers don’t seem to have space in mind.