The AI Ethics Journey Will Hit New Heights in 2021

The Department of Defense adopted its Ethical Principles for Artificial Intelligence in February 2020, a first for any military organization. These principles build on the foundational work performed by the Defense Innovation Board and is tied directly to one of the pillars of the DoD AI Strategy: Leading in military ethics and safety. The Joint Artificial Intelligence Center serves as the Department's lead for coordinating the oversight and implementation of these principles. Alka Patel, head of AI Ethics Policy for the JAIC, focuses on how to operationalize the five DoD AI Ethics Principles (Responsible, Equitable, Traceable, Reliable and Governable) and put them into practice in the design, development, deployment, and use of AI-enabled capabilities. However, to operationalize these principles throughout the DoD, the JAIC is turning to Responsible AI – an enterprise-wide framework that provides the DoD workforce and the American public the confidence that DoD AI-enabled systems will be safe and reliable, and will adhere to ethical standards.