At the Google Public Sector Summit on Oct. 16, Joint Force Headquarters-Department of Defense Information Network’s (JFHQ-DoDIN) deputy commander Brig. Gen. Heather W. Blackwell emphasized that prioritizing data is essential as the agency begins planning for the use of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies in defense.
When it comes to AI for defense operations, many agencies including JFHQ-DoDIN remain in the preliminary stages.
Blackwell candidly acknowledged the nascent stage of her organization’s AI strategy, stating, “I wish I could [say] that we have this awesome AI strategy … but we don’t. We are still at the very [beginning] of building where we want to take AI for defense.”
But in the broader goal of advancing AI in defense spaces, data is at the top of her list.
“AI is nothing without data, but my data is not structured. It’s a little bit dirty and all over the map. I’ve got data on equity data, data on ships, networking, and even data on the electromagnetic spectrum. There’s data everywhere,” Blackwell said.
“I want the system to correlate all of that [data] with intelligence, both open source and classified. I need to find connections that my analysts might miss and direct us in the right way,” Blackwell said.
The challenge is huge, she acknowledged, especially with the deluge of data and the need for analysts to predict future compromises.
“If I can use AI to correlate these distinctions and help predict outcomes, then my analysts can focus on key issues,” she said.
Adding to an already daunting task list, Blackwell wants to be able to deliver this capability very quickly – and put capabilities into the hands of warfighters at lightning speed.
“We can architect a capability with all the benefits that AI brings … [but] it still takes three years to get it to our warfighter,” Blackwell said.
