Live from the Summit: Tech can change government -- and vice-versa

A wide-ranging discussion on the impact of technology on government -- and on government's impact on technology -- just concluded at the DLA Piper Global Technology Summit. Setting the tone, it was noted that the United States government invests billions of dollars annually in basic technological research and development, and government demand has driven such innovations as GPS, the Internet and supercomputing. This discussion centered on the government's role as a catalyst for technology and emerging areas of research, including intelligent transportation systems and health information technology.

Paul Brubaker, the head of Research and Innovative Technology at the US Department of Transportation summarized, "the infrastructure in the U.S. will be radically altered, radically changed over the next decade [through the influence of technology.]"

Brubaker illustrated the potential impact of technology, saying the 6 million auto accidents and resulting 2.3 miilion injuries and billion dollar price tag for property damage and personal injury could be "significantly reduced" with advances in Intelligent Vehicle Transportation Systems -- and "mobile ad-hoc peer-to-peer networks" that will become more ubiquitous in vehicles and transporation systems over the next decade.

Dr. Robert Kolodner, National Coordinator for Health Information Technology for the US Department of Health and Human Services, said private entities, specifically small physician practices, will be key to driving tech advances and adoption. He noted that 50% of doctors in the U.S. are in small practices with 4 or less physicians and that he expects electronic health records to be adopted by a majority of providers by 2014.

Teri Takai, CIO of the State of California, which will spend about $12 billion on information technology and services in the next decade, focused on the impact that technology can have in making government more responsive and customer service-oriented.