Day: December 24, 2024

The Powerball jackpot for Monday night’s draw hit six figures after no one won the grand prize Saturday, creating a potentially massive Christmas surprise for a lucky player.
The prize was an estimated $103 million with a $47 million cash option, but it increased after the jackpot went unclaimed again. The Powerball numbers were drawn shortly after 11 p.m. ET and USA TODAY has the results below.
While no one took home the jackpot Saturday, tickets in Indiana and New Jersey matched the five numbers and the Power Play to win $2 million, and a ticket sold in Illinois matched the five numbers to win $1 million.
After Monday’s drawing, the jackpot went up to an estimated $117 million, with a cash value of $53.4 million.
The last jackpot winner came earlier this month when a ticket sold in New York matched the five numbers and the Powerball to win $256 million.
Holiday deals: Shop this season’s top products and sales curated by our editors.
The odds of winning the Powerball jackpot are long. Players have a one in 292,201,338 shot at winning the grand prize, a one in 11,688,053.52 shot at winning the $1 million prize and a one in 24.87 chance of winning any prize.
The winning numbers for the Powerball drawing on Dec. 23, 2024, are: 22, 42, 44, 57, 64 Powerball: 18
Powerplay: 2X
Winning lottery numbers are sponsored by Jackpocket, the official digital lottery courier of the USA TODAY network.
No one won the Powerball jackpot, but one lucky person in Michigan won the Match 5 $1 million prize just in time for the holidays.
To find the full list of previous Powerball winners, click the link to the lottery’s website.
In order to purchase a $2 Powerball ticket, you’ll have to visit your local convenience store, gas station or grocery store − and in a handful of states, you can purchase tickets online.
To play, you will need to pick six numbers in total to mark on your ticket. Five numbers will be white balls ranging from numbers 1 to 69. The Powerball is red and one number which is between 1 and 26.
If you want to increase your chances of winning, you can add a “Power Play” for $1 which increases the winnings for all non-jackpot prizes. This addition can multiply winnings by 2X, 3X, 4X, 5X or 10X.
Players can also ask a cashier for a “Quick Pick” where a cashier will give you computer generated numbers on a printed Powerball ticket.
Drawings are held on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday nights. If there’s no jackpot winner, the cash prize will increase by millions.
Tickets can be purchased in person at gas stations, convenience stores and grocery stores. Some airport terminals may also sell lottery tickets.
You can also order tickets online through Jackpocket, the official digital lottery courier of the USA TODAY Network, in these U.S. states and territories: Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Puerto Rico, Texas, Washington D.C. and West Virginia. The Jackpocket app allows you to pick your lottery game and numbers, place your order, see your ticket and collect your winnings all using your phone or home computer.
Jackpocket is the official digital lottery courier of the USA TODAY Network. Gannett may earn revenue for audience referrals to Jackpocket services. Must be 18+, 21+ in AZ and 19+ in NE. Not affiliated with any State Lottery. Gambling Problem? Call 1-877-8-HOPE-NY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY); 1-800-327-5050(MA); 1-877-MYLIMIT (OR); 1-800-981-0023 (PR); 1-800-GAMBLER (all others). Visit jackpocket.com/tos for full terms.

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Mega Millions players have the chance to win $1 billion in Tuesday night’s Christmas Eve drawing.
At Bunny’s in Manchester, shoppers were buying tickets ahead of the drawing for what would be the game’s seventh largest jackpot of all time. The cash option would add up to $448.8 million before taxes.
The last time someone hit the jackpot was on Sept. 10, when a Texas player had the $810 million winning ticket. The largest ever prize was awarded in August 2023.
Granite Staters playing the lottery said they were excited about the chance to win big this Christmas. Player Eric Kilbane said he had plans for the money, even though he knew his odds of winning were slim.
“I got one for my wife, one daughter, two daughters and three daughters right there. They’ll pay for their college with that, hopefully,” he said. “Or not. We’ll see what happens.”
Tickets are $2. Because of the holiday, some stores are closing early, so anyone shopping for a ticket was urged to check store hours.
The winning numbers can be seen at 11 p.m. Tuesday on WMUR-Channel 9.
Hearst Television participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means we may get paid commissions on editorially chosen products purchased through our links to retailer sites.

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On Dec. 24, 2024, the amount of mined bitcoins crossed the 19,800,000 mark, leaving less than 1.2 million bitcoins remaining until the total supply is exhausted.
After the 2024 halving, approximately 450 bitcoins are mined each day. According to one of the earliest websites collecting various Bitcoin data, Clark Moody, December 24 saw achieving a 19.8 million mined bitcoins milestone. 
As many of you might know, Bitcoin has a supply cap of 21 million units. Does it mean that all the bitcoins will be mined soon, and what happens when the remaining supply is exhausted? Why does the Bitcoin scarcity matter, and can the supply cap be removed? These and other questions are answered below. 
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While nearly 20 of 21 million bitcoins were mined within the first 14 years of Bitcoin’s existence, the last remaining fractions of Bitcoin will be exhausted only in 2140. The reason is that the Bitcoin emission is set to drop by 50% roughly once every four years every time another 210,000 blocks are mined. The drop in BTC emissions is referred to as “halving.”
As of December 2024, each mined block unlocks 3.25 BTC as a mining reward. In 2140, this amount will drop below the smallest fraction of Bitcoin, known as Satoshi, a one-millionth particle of Bitcoin. As Satoshi is set to be a minimal fraction of Bitcoin, the 2140 halving will effectively stop the emission of bitcoins. 
Mining is at the heart of the Bitcoin network’s validity and safety, while mining rewards are the prime incentive for miners to continue their troublesome operations. Happily, when the emission of new bitcoins stops, miners will still receive rewards. Instead of getting freshly minted coins, they will receive portions of the transaction fees charged from the senders. It’s worth saying that fees paid by senders for transaction prioritization already make up a substantial portion of miner rewards.
While inflation is not inherently bad, as it drives the economy when healthy, Bitcoin is usually celebrated as a deflationary asset. While the government can print more dollars, thus decreasing the value of dollars you already hold, Bitcoin is coded in a way that its supply is immutable and limited to 21 million units. 
As the overall amount of bitcoins will only go down with time as more and more units will ‘stuck’ in the shut wallets forever, it is believed that the value of each unit will only keep on rising.
The stock-to-flow model proponents claim that scarcity drives value. However, it’s understood that scarcity is far from being the only or the main value driver. Can you draw a single unit of your own currency and expect it to be the most valued one due to extreme scarcity? Probably not. Given that Bitcoin is already enjoying a high value, its scarcity forces buyers to bid for each unit more. That’s the way halvings drive the BTC price up all the time.
A three-minute educational video on Bitcoin, released by BlackRock in December 2024, stirred an online discussion over the possibility and implications of the supply hard cap removal.
The removal is not impossible, as the Bitcoin network’s structure has already been edited on various occasions through hard forking. So, if the community working on the Bitcoin improvements votes for making Bitcoin inflationary and makes necessary changes to the Bitcoin architecture–voilà–someday we can see inflationary Bitcoin.
The opponents of this move claim such changes would have turned Bitcoin into something completely different. More than that, they remind us that those who don’t want Bitcoin without a fixed supply can still use the classic version of Satoshi Nakamoto’s brainchild.
What on earth is with it saying that there's no guarantee that the fixed supply will be changed? There absolutely is a guarantee. If they change it, Bitcoin hard forks, there will be two bitcoins. The old fixed supply one will still be around, and that's what people will value.
Many believe Satoshi Nakamoto himself holds large loads of BTC mined in the early days, with some naming an amount of 1 million of BTC. However, the bitcoins in Nakamoto’s identified wallet have not been moving since 2009, and millions of such frozen bitcoins are all over the ledger.
According to the same Clark Moody website that we mentioned in the beginning, there are 220.31 ‘provably’ unspendable coins. This means that over 220 BTC will never be able to be used as they are isolated as unclaimed rewards, null data outputs, or other ways.
However, the word “provably” indicates that there are more “lost” coins. Various sources claim that 3 to nearly 8 million bitcoins are lost forever. According to the CryptoSlate June 2024 article, 7.7 million are either lost or “hodled.” 
Bitcoins are lost all the time for various reasons: people lose access to their private keys, hardware, and paper wallets get fatally damaged, coins are sent to invalid addresses, etc. It’s understood that the amount of lost bitcoins will keep on growing, decreasing the level of bitcoins in circulation.
2140 will see the end of an era of so-called “virgin bitcoins.” This term stands for bitcoins that have never been in use and, therefore, have a clean transaction history. 
Virgin bitcoins are already immensely rare. The only way to obtain such Bitcoin is to buy it directly from the miner via a P2P service (as depositing a virgin Bitcoin in exchange would have stained its transaction history). More than that, if the portion of BTC was received while mining in the pool, it automatically cannot be “virgin” as the mining pool distributes rewards among mining participants, i.e., miners are not receiving these bitcoins firsthand. 
More than that, as soon as Bitcoin becomes included in an unspent transaction output (UTXO), it loses its virginity status. It happens as soon as the virgin bitcoin is sent in parts. 
As virgin bitcoins are rare and hard to get, they are sold at higher prices than usual bitcoins. Why would someone want to pay extra to get a Bitcoin with a clean transaction history? The answer is not hard to grasp – institutional investors don’t want to increase risk by buying bitcoins that were involved in criminal transactions. Such bitcoins in the portfolio may potentially cause harm to their wealth. The only way to cut off these risks is to buy virgin bitcoins.
A notable crypto writer, Nic Carter, questions the very existence of virgin bitcoins, noting that it’s nearly impossible to produce them. In his article, he dismisses the importance of clean transaction history, citing the purchase of bitcoins seized by the U.S. government from the Silk Road market by venture capitalist Tim Draper.
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Jennifer Garrison is co-director of the Center for Healthy Aging in Women at the Buck Institute for Research on Aging.

Jennifer Garrison is co-director of the Center for Healthy Aging in Women at the Buck Institute for Research on Aging.
Women’s health is a traditionally overlooked area of medical research. At the Center for Healthy Aging in Women at the Buck Institute for Research on Aging, assistant professor and co-Director Jennifer Garrison aims to alter that paradigm. Garrison is also the cofounder and executive director of the related global consortium, now called Productive Health.
Founded in 2019, the center was the first facility in the world to study the ways in which ovaries are the driver of female aging. “Nowadays when I give talks to the general public I tell people that they need to stop calling ovaries reproductive organs,” says Garrison, who was closely involved with the study. “I think calling them reproductive organs has in some ways allowed people to pigeonhole all of women’s health through the lens of fertility and keep it small and make it a niche sub-category of medicine, when we’re really talking about half the population and their global health.”
The current reality is that women have longer life-spans than men, but shorter health spans, directly due to the fact that ovaries age more than twice as fast as the rest of the tissues in the female body. For Garrison, this realization about ovaries led to a period of grief and anger, both at the facts of the situation and the lack of funded research about how having a pair of ovaries affects the course of a woman’s life. “The idea is not to extend your lifespan but to extend the number of years you’re healthy.”
The question Garrison and her colleagues now face is what drives normal ovarian aging from birth onward. “It’s not about fertility; it’s not about menopause,” she adds. “Those are two downstream consequences of ovarian aging. If your ovaries aren’t working at any age, that uncovers certain health risks. If you take a 10-year-old girl and her ovaries aren’t working properly, she’ll run into issues going through puberty.”
The bottom line is, “for none of this, do we understand the way or how … the biggest issue is this data gap,” Garrison says. “We literally don’t have any data. It’s not like we’re a year behind, or 10 years behind. We are generations behind on understanding how female bodies work.” Garrison’s goal is to fund grants through philanthropy. “This is a pants-on-fire problem,” she notes.
To assist Garrison, Productive Health and the Center for Healthy Aging in Women in addressing this research gap in women’s health, make a donation at productivehealth.org.
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ARTIFICIAL intelligence is taking over dating apps after years of user backlash and exhaustion, according to a bold prediction by officials at Tinder.
Tinder, the most popular dating app in the world, is shifting toward new technology as users are becoming burnt out on internet romance.
In a recent survey conducted by Forbes, 78 percent of respondents reported feeling "emotionally, mentally, or physically exhausted" by dating apps.
Match Group, a tech company that owns online dating services including Tinder, OkCupid, and Hinge, says an AI shift is exactly what the apps need to reignite excitement in users.
"AI is going to transform the dating experience," Tinder executive Bernard Kim said at a recent investors meeting, according to the Financial Times.
"It’s going to enable us to make all aspects of the online dating journey better."
In preliminary efforts to improve the app experience, Tinder has started to test a trial requirement for users to upload pictures of their faces, which is currently optional in most regions.
The app is also testing a check that uses biometric scans to ensure that users' profile pictures aren't fake.
Faye Iosotaluno, the CEO of Tinder, also said on investor day that the app is trying an "AI-enabled discovery feature” that would suggest people's matches based on pictures and quizzes.
Tinder already uses AI to help its users pick the best pictures to use in their profiles.
However, the steps toward innovation didn't stop the app's slow descent over the years as sales dropped and digital dating fatigue grew.
A year ago, Tinder launched a pricy subscription plan called Tinder Select that allowed users to send messages to profiles without matching with them first.
The model sparked a backlash as critics worried that the plan removed consent from the user experience and created opportunities for stalking and harassment.
However, users have to meet a specific criteria and go through an application process to be eligible for Tinder Select.
Tinder isn't the only dating platform considering AI advancements.
Hinge CEO Justin McLeod said at Match's investor day that the Tinder rival plans to create personalized dating coaches for users with the help of AI.
Artificial intelligence is a highly contested issue, and it seems everyone has a stance on it. Here are some common arguments against it:
Loss of jobs – Some industry experts argue that AI will create new niches in the job market, and as some roles are eliminated, others will appear. However, many artists and writers insist the argument is ethical, as generative AI tools are being trained on their work and wouldn't function otherwise.
Ethics – When AI is trained on a dataset, much of the content is taken from the Internet. This is almost always, if not exclusively, done without notifying the people whose work is being taken.
Privacy – Content from personal social media accounts may be fed to language models to train them. Concerns have cropped up as Meta unveils its AI assistants across platforms like Facebook and Instagram. There have been legal challenges to this: in 2016, legislation was created to protect personal data in the EU, and similar laws are in the works in the United States.
Misinformation – As AI tools pulls information from the Internet, they may take things out of context or suffer hallucinations that produce nonsensical answers. Tools like Copilot on Bing and Google's generative AI in search are always at risk of getting things wrong. Some critics argue this could have lethal effects – such as AI prescribing the wrong health information.
“Dating isn’t easy," McLeod told investors, according to CNN.
"Many people using the app don’t get that first match and don’t know why — whether it’s their photos, not sending enough likes or taking too long to ask a match on a date.
"A dating coach can step in with personalized suggestions."
McLeod said that Hinge plans to fully embrace AI in the coming future with the same goals as Tinder.
“While AI is not going to be a panacea when it comes to the very deeply and personal problem of love, I can tell you that it is going to transform the dating app experience, taking it from a do-it-yourself platform to an expertly guided journey that leads to far better outcomes and much better value to our daters,” he said.
As AI expands to help daters find their perfect matches on dating apps, users can also take warning against scammers who use AI to prowl dating apps to manipulate or steal from victims.
However, social scientist Liesel Sharabi told CNN that daters are still in the "early stages" of embracing AI.
“The platforms are still figuring out its role in the online dating experience, but it really does have the potential to transform this space," Sharabi said.
Tinder hasn't responded to The U.S. Sun's request for comment.
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Coinbase’s Stock Soars Amid Growing Investor Interest
Coinbase Global Inc. is making waves as its stock surged by an impressive 3%, closing at $276.22 with a peak at $278.08. Despite trading volumes remaining below the norm, this movement highlights the cryptocurrency exchange’s strategic stance and growing appeal among market watchers.
Diverse Analyst Opinions on Coinbase’s Future
Market experts are buzzing with mixed forecasts for Coinbase’s trajectory. Canaccord Genuity Group maintains strong confidence with a target price of $280. Showing a dramatic shift in perspective, Barclays raised its forecast from $204 to a remarkable $355, reflecting a more optimistic outlook. Conversely, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods set a modest target of $275, pointing to a balanced view of the company’s prospects.
Financial Performance and Growth Opportunities
In its latest financial update, Coinbase reported a revenue of $1.21 billion for the quarter, slightly under market predictions. With a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.72 and a hefty market capitalization of $70 billion, the firm holds significant clout in the financial sector. Nonetheless, an earnings per share of $0.28 did not hit expected targets, indicating fertile ground for future improvements.
Leadership Moves and Stakeholder Reactions
Significant insider activity saw CEO Brian Armstrong selling over 58,000 shares, amassing $19 million while keeping 526 shares. Chief Accounting Officer Jennifer N. Jones also made notable cuts in her stockholdings. These actions have stirred discussions about the motivations and strategies employed by Coinbase’s leadership.
Institutional Investors Show Confidence
The confidence of institutional investors in Coinbase is evident, with 68.84% control of its stock, signifying faith in its long-term growth potential. This dominance underscores Coinbase’s pivotal role in the digital currency landscape, as cryptocurrencies increasingly integrate into the mainstream financial sphere.
Leading the Charge in Crypto Innovation
As a pioneer in blockchain technology, Coinbase is steering transformative changes in digital asset infrastructure. Its focus on security and sustainability aligns with global trends, reinforcing cryptocurrency as a solid mainstream option. Anyone keen on the future of financial systems is watching Coinbase closely. Visit Coinbase for further details.
Understanding Coinbase’s Strategic Movements
Coinbase, a leading cryptocurrency exchange platform, has captured investor attention with its recent stock performance. The company’s shares experienced a rise of 3%, but what is driving this surge, and how is Coinbase positioning itself for future success?
The Pros and Cons of Investing in Coinbase
Investing in Coinbase presents both opportunities and risks due to volatile market dynamics and evolving regulatory environments. Here are some factors to consider:
# Pros
– Market Leadership: Coinbase’s pioneering status in blockchain is a significant asset.
– Innovative Security Measures: The platform’s commitment to security helps build user trust.
– Insider Confidence: The strong backing of institutional investors signals faith in its strategies.
# Cons
– Volatility: The cryptocurrency market is notoriously volatile, affecting Coinbase’s stock.
– Regulatory Risks: Changing legal stipulations can impact operations and investor returns.
– Leadership Sale Actions: Recent insider sales might raise questions about internal perspectives on stock valuation.
Financial Features and Specifications
Coinbase holds a market capitalization of $70 billion, indicating its hefty presence in the financial market. Here are some key financial metrics:
– Revenue: Reported at $1.21 billion for the latest quarter.
– Price-to-Earnings Ratio: Stands at 47.72, reflecting the potential for future growth.
– Earnings Per Share: $0.28, falling short of predictions but suggesting areas for future improvement.
Innovations and Trends in Crypto Infrastructure
Coinbase is at the forefront of digital asset innovation. Here are some emerging trends and developments:
# Innovations
– Blockchain Technology: Advancing secure and efficient transaction processes.
– Sustainability Focus: Initiatives aimed at making cryptocurrency mining and transactions environmentally friendly.
# Trends
– Security Enhancements: Ongoing improvements in safeguarding user assets.
– Mainstream Integration: Cryptocurrencies are becoming part of traditional investment portfolios, with platforms like Coinbase leading the way.
Market Analysis: Coinbase’s Competitive Edge
Coinbase’s trajectory is influenced by its robust digital infrastructure and expanding user base. The growing institutional investor confidence, as reflected by their 68.84% stake, underscores belief in Coinbase’s strategic direction.
Coinbase continues to be a key player in the crypto market, offering valuable insights and solutions for those interested in this dynamic financial landscape. As cryptocurrencies integrate further into mainstream financial systems, platforms like Coinbase are poised to play a significant role in shaping the future.
Waverly Harmon is a renowned author specializing in the field of new technologies. She holds a Master’s degree in Computer Science from Stanford University, a globally respected educational institution. Her passion for technology was honessed as she worked for several years at Siemens, a leading multinational conglomerate, where she was responsible for the research and development of innovative software solutions. There, she gained substantial hands-on experience with emerging technological trends and their potential impacts on businesses and societies alike. Waverly’s acclaimed works are lauded for their insightful depiction of the rapidly evolving tech landscape. With her distinct voice and comprehensive analysis, she continues to provide a viable roadmap for those navigating the realms of future tech innovation. Her technical knowledge, infused with her gifted storytelling capabilities, makes her works both instructional and engaging. In her free time, Waverly mentors up-and-coming tech enthusiasts. She is truly a venerated figure in the technology literature circle.
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Home » Lotto
By Lotto results
Journalist
3 minute read
24 Dec 2024
08:20 pm
Picture: iStock
Get the PowerBall and PowerBall Plus results as soon as they are drawn on The Citizen, so you can rest easy and check your tickets with confidence.
Estimated PowerBall and PowerBall Plus jackpots for Tuesday, 24 December 2024:
PowerBall jackpot: R38 million guaranteed.
PowerBall Plus jackpot: R12 million estimated.
PowerBall: 05, 07, 08, 12, 18. Powerball: 09.
PowerBall Plus: 06, 15, 34, 35, 45. Powerball: 17.
The winning PowerBall numbers will appear below after the draw. Usually within 10 minutes of the draw. You might need to refresh the page to see the updated results.
While great care has been taken to ensure accuracy, The Citizen cannot take responsibility for any error in the PowerBall or PowerBall Plus results. We suggest verifying the numbers on the National Lottery website.
Lottery outlets close at 8.30pm on the day of a draw, which happens at 9pm. The terms and conditions may differ from other service outlets. Visit www.nationallottery.co.za for more information.
You can find the historical winning numbers for PowerBall and Lotto draws here.
PowerBall entries cost R5 per board including VAT. PowerBall Plus costs an additional R2.50 per board. You can also play PowerBall on selected banking apps (T’s & C’s apply).
Visit www.nationallottery.co.za and go to the How to Play section to find out more.
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Over a dozen police and sheriff’s departments, along with some state entities, are picking up shifts throughout the holiday season.
Over a dozen police and sheriff’s departments, along with some state entities, are picking up shifts throughout the holiday season.
Over a dozen police and sheriff’s departments, along with some state entities, are picking up shifts throughout the holiday season.
Law enforcement agencies across the state are coming together this holiday season for the St. Johnsbury Police Department a few weeks after its captain, Jason Gray, was shot after responding to reports of a domestic violence incident.
It led to weekendlong manhunt, during which the suspect, Scott Mason, was eventually arrested.
Over a dozen police and sheriff’s departments, along with some state entities, are picking up shifts throughout the holiday season to give St. Johnsbury police some time to spend with their families in light of the traumatic event that unfolded on Dec. 13.
Those volunteering span from all over the state and range from Brattleboro to Essex, along with the Department of Motor Vehicles and Vermont State Police.
Two officers per shift will be from other departments and can use St. Johnsbury’s cruisers and equipment or their own, so if you are in the area and see police from different parts of Vermont, that’s why.
Those helping out said this is a very unique situation, but when the call for help was put out, it was met with an overwhelming response from the law enforcement community to help provide those St. Johnsbury officers with some extra time off this holiday season.
“The situation is a testament to the strength of small-town policing, where officers will take care of one another regardless of the patch or the uniform color. In Vermont, we understand policing is not just about enforcing laws, but it’s about supporting one another in a time of crisis. We’re all a part of a larger family,” said Jennifer Frank, the Windsor police chief.
Others volunteering, like the Windsor County Sheriff’s Department, said thankfully, officers don’t get shot at very often in Vermont and they are honored to help out and do whatever they can.
Scott Mason pleaded not guilty to attempted first-degree murder and is being held without bail.
Gray returned home to his family last week.
This article will be updated.
Hearst Television participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means we may get paid commissions on editorially chosen products purchased through our links to retailer sites.

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Chrome could get a massive AI upgrade if this rumor is true  TechRadar
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“The directive goes a long way towards helping the DoD understand what the role and responsibility is for the CDAO,” said David Edwards.
The chief digital and artificial intelligence office has completed its implementation plan for the AI Adoption Strategy and the DoD’s AI chartering directive, a crucial step for the nascent agency that will help define the agency’s roles and responsibilities in managing the DoD’s data, analytics, and artificial intelligence initiatives.
The agency provided the implementation plan to the Defense Department office of inspector general shortly before the release of the IG report in November that assesses the effectiveness of the CDAO’s development of AI strategy and policy for the DoD.
And the DoD’s AI policy in the form of a chartering directive, was published several days after the release of the IG report, fulfilling the second prong of the DoD IG’s policy-focused recommendations for the CDAO.
“I think having the DoD Office of Inspector General involved really helped them lead towards developing that so they ended up providing that implementation plan to us as part of the formal management comments,” David Edwards, the evaluations intelligence division director at the DoD office of inspector general, told Federal News Network.
        Get tips on how your agency should tackle the data pillar of zero trust in our latest Executive Briefing, sponsored by Varonis.
“And the directive or charter goes a long way towards helping the department understand what the role and responsibility is for the chief digital and artificial intelligence office. That was a big milestone that just happened here a few weeks ago with the publishing of that directive. That was another thing that we found that we were able to, as the office of inspector general, help the department move forward and accelerate their timelines to get that across the finish line.”
While the implementation plan and the directive has been completed, the chartering directive’s implementation instruction is still in its draft form. Both the chartering directive and the implementing instruction will be foundational policy tools that clearly define CDAO’s the CDAO’s mission, functions, relationships, and authorities regarding the DoD’s adoption and integration of data, analytics, and AI capabilities.
The CDAO doesn’t control the process — the Washington Headquarters Services, a DoD agency responsible for administrative oversight, is currently reviewing the instruction. The review can take weeks or even months to complete. 
“They’re moving that through the process. We continue to pulse CDAO to get updates as recently as just this week with how things are going. It is expected shortly, but we don’t have a time frame on that. But once they conclude that, we’ll go ahead and close the last recommendation,” said Edwards.
The chartering directive is about two years late — Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks directed the CDAO and the office of the director of administration and management to develop the DoD’s AI policy back in 2022. The delay of both the implementation plan and policy directive caused confusion about the Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office’s roles and responsibilities for DOD data, analytics and AI and between the CDAO and the DOD chief information office. 
CDAO and DoD CIO officials told the IG office they “disagree on what encompasses ‘digital infrastructure’ due to their organizations’ understanding of the term “infrastructure,” particularly as it pertains to information technology and cloud-based systems that include AI.”
“A CDAO official stated that this disagreement led to the CDAO and the DoD CIO both being concerned that some of the CDAO and the DoD CIO responsibilities may overlap,” the IG report states.
Since the IG office began its analysis in January, the CDAO and DoD CIO have begun working together to address these issues — the two offices are developing a new AI accounting database, which will track AI spending across the department and help make informed decisions on future AI investments. The database will help address concerns the two offices have had about any potential budgetary overlap.
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“That’s something that we can we’ll continue to follow up with them on not it was not a core recommendation for this report, but it is something that we may recommend or refer over to our audits division that are more primarily focused on some of the monetary and budgeting issues as a potential project for them,” said Edwards.
While this IG report’s focus is primarily on governance and policy, the office plans to shift its focus to the acquisition and development of AI products and services in the future. As for 2025, Edwards said his office will work on a number of AI-related initiatives, including project Maven and Replicator.
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