Is government ready for AI? -- FCW

Artificial intelligence is helping the Army keep its Stryker armored vehicles in fighting shape. Army officials are using IBM's Watson AI system in combination with onboard sensor data, repair manuals and 15 years of maintenance data to predict mechanical problems before they happen. IBM and the Army's Redstone Arsenal post in Alabama demonstrated Watson's abilities on 350 Stryker vehicles during a field test that began in mid-2016. The Army is now reviewing the results of that test to evaluate Watson's ability to assist human mechanics, and the early insights are encouraging. The Watson AI enabled the pilot program's leaders to create the equivalent of a "personalized medicine" plan for each of the vehicles tested, said Sam Gordy, general manager of IBM U.S. Federal.