[IP] Re: Computer-assisted decisions sometimes a good thing

[David Farber <dave@farber.net>]

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From:
Sent: Thursday, May 01, 2008 11:47 PM
To: David Farber
Subject: anonymous please Re: [IP] Computer-assisted decisions sometimes a good thing

Dave:
Please make this anonymous as well.  I prefer that it not be known that I have a clearance and work with people with clearances.

The proposed system sounds very much like the current system to me.  When I went for my clearance, there was something on my application which was out of the standard profile, so I was not granted an interim clearance.  The application then went into the pile for an investigator to work.  Eventually that happened, they acquired the additional information they needed, and the final clearance was granted.  (Many of my foreign born colleagues have the same experience.)  It sounds like they propose to automate that initial search and decision.  Of course, this presumes that when they say that the system will deny some clearances those are the obviously out-of-scope ones where the applicant is not a US citizen, etc.

I would also presume that they will retain the appeal process.  I have had colleagues who have had to go before an appeal board after being denied and who were able to clear up issues that had not been resolved during the investigation.

All-in-all, if this frees up investigators and speeds the process of getting clearances through, it sounds like an improvement.

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