Defense AI Efforts Hinge on Strong Data Environments

Establishing strong data environments and strategies will be key to the adoption of artificial intelligence in the military, according to Lt. Gen. Michael Groen, the director of the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center at the Defense Department. Speaking in a webinar Wednesday on Federal News Network, Groen painted a picture of AI within DOD, emphasizing the need to cultivate an infrastructure that can handle a dynamic data environment. Groen described acquisition of AI technologies as a "generational transformation" that would take time, beginning with shifting DOD from a hardware-centric organization to a "world class software organization. "Getting our data strategies together is a really important component," he said. A major part of this will be changing the data ecosystem that DOD employs, specifically in regard to installing a common data environment to facilitate AI usage throughout the department.