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Intel's Role in the Data Moon Shot

David_Hoffman
Employee
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CDACBy: David Hoffman, Associate General Counsel and Global Privacy Officer

On April 23 and 24, Intel’s Chief Information Officer, Kim Stevenson, participated as a member at the first meeting of the Department of Commerce’s Data Advisory Council. The Council is the first federal advisory committee to convene experts from industry and academia to advise the government on how to gain the value from the use of government data, while protecting privacy and security.

In opening remarks to the Council, Ian Kalin, the Department’s Chief Data Officer, spoke of President Kennedy’s call in 1962 to put a man on the moon by the end of the decade. He asked participants to consider “what should be the country’s data moon shot”? This question is directly in line with Intel’s desire to use technology to improve the lives of everyone on earth. Intel’s co-founder Robert Noyce said (and the quote is on the wall in the entrance of our corporate headquarters), “Don’t be encumbered by history. Go off and do something wonderful.” Kim Stevenson has been doing just that in the use of data analytics.

Ms. Stevenson leads Intel’s efforts to generate value from the data created by Intel’s manufacturing, design and sales efforts. Intel runs specific data analytics projects in sales lead optimization, business decision support from integrating multiple data sets, using web analytics to better understand our customers, and analysis of our manufacturing data to reduce product test time. Intel’s Information Technology Group’s Annual Report noted these projects increased 2014 revenue by $351 million. All enterprises can learn from these successes and the Council provides an opportunity to work with the Department of Commerce to bring these capabilities to government and private sector organizations across the United States.

The Department of Commerce is well situated to define best practices for providing the private sector with access to government data. Government data will often include sensitive information about individuals. It will be important to identify ways to use this data to advance societal goals (improving healthcare outcomes, addressing environmental issues, aiding students and teachers, promoting efficiencies in urban planning and development), while also protecting the privacy of individuals. Intel commends the Department of Commerce for reaching out to academia and the private sector for advice. Intel looks forward to using its tremendous successes in the ethical and innovative use of data to help the country address the important societal issues of our time.