The security clearance process is broken—a fact widely accepted by stakeholders in the public and private sector, legislative and executive branches of government, Democrats and Republicans. As federal leaders work on the largest process overhaul in half a century, artificial intelligence will play a key role.
In February, officials unveiled plans for Trusted Workforce 2.0, a framework that would shift suitability and security determinations from a one-time investigation followed by reassessments every five to 10 years, to an ongoing process that uses technology and private sector partners and data.
The first step in moving away from the old process is getting rid of all the paper, according to Terry Carpenter, the program executive officer for the National Background Investigation Service, the office overseeing the technical overhaul of the investigations process.