With AI hype outrunning reality, DoD AI chief Craig Martell told lawmakers his office is "building what we're calling a maturity model" to assess what generative AI really can and cannot do.
Plumb, the current deputy under secretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment, has held high-powered jobs from Google to the National Security Council.
A Breaking Defense webinar with experts from CDAO, APL, and CNAS gets into the question of defining artificial intelligence vs machine learning.
2023’s Global Information Dominance Experiments were a race to field a “minimum viable” version of CJADC2. The 2024 GIDEs will open up to more input from the services, the Five Eyes allies, and a wide range of contractors.
“The Minimum Viable Capability for CJADC2 [Combined Joint All Domain Command & Control] is real and ready now,” said Deputy Secretary Kathleen Hicks. “It's low latency and extremely reliable.” But budget gridlock blocks deployment.
The US military can quickly kludge together custom solutions for urgent problems, said Pentagon AI chief Craig Martell. But it needs a more systematic approach to turn those quick hacks into stable, enduring AIs that can actually talk to each other.
Ryan Swann, a member of the Defense Innovation Board and chief data officer at Vanguard, argues in this op-ed that the Pentagon should make bureaucratic changes, but also "create environments in which DoD civilians and service members can express their innovative talents."
The Pentagon achieved a minimum viable capability for its Joint All Domain Command and Control effort through the recent Global Information Dominance Experiment, Deputy CDAO Margaret Palmieri said.
"We’ve hit our milestones and you’ll start seeing as we look to the next few months a lot more activity from the Maven office in terms of contracting," Rachel Martin said.
“The goal is to create a complete and efficient AI and ML development and delivery operational pipeline (AI/MLOps) with supporting services for sensor programs within PEO IEW&S while managing cost, schedule, risk and performance," according to a request for information.
While designed for military program managers, the app will be also available to the public so that industry, allies and ordinary citizens can understand how the Pentagon is implementing “responsible AI” – and how China is not.
“Meanwhile, as commercial tech companies and others continue to push forward the frontiers of AI, we're making sure we stay at the cutting edge with foresight, responsibility and a deep understanding of the broader implications for our nation,” Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks said.
"Despite the speed and impacts from BRAVO hackathons, we are still finding the time from development of capabilities, calibrations, or tactics with operational data to employment in theater to be on the order of months or years," Stuart Wagner, Air Force chief digital transformation officer and BRAVO AI battle labs executive agent, said.
Led by the Pentagon’s Chief Digital and AI Office, the task force “will assess, synchronize, and employ generative AI capabilities across the DoD, ensuring the Department remains at the forefront of cutting-edge technologies while safeguarding national security,” according to a DoD announcement.
Through the reinvigorated GIDEs, the Pentagon is “for the first time” taking a “speed and quality approach,” Pentagon Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office chief Greg Little said.