Lyft exec will head the Pentagon's AI efforts

Craig Martell, Head of Machine Learning at Lyft, is set to head the Pentagon's AI efforts. Breaking Defense first broke the news after learning Martell was destined to be named as the Pentagon's new chief digital and AI officer. Martell has significant AI industry experience – leading efforts at not just Lyft but also Dropbox and LinkedIn – but has no experience navigating public-sector bureaucracy. The Pentagon is going to be very much "in at the deep-end" for Martell in that regard, something which he fully acknowledges. "I don't know my ways around the Pentagon yet and I don't know what levers to pull," said Martell to Breaking Defense.