The Pentagon is creating a new position -- the chief digital and artificial intelligence officer. Intended to be the successor to the Defense Department's Joint Artificial Intelligence Center, the new office will better align data, analytics, digital solutions and AI efforts across the department, reflecting a "shift in organizational concept," according to Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks. The department's Chief Information Officer John Sherman has been named as the acting chief digital and artificial intelligence officer, while the search for permanent leader continues -- targeted for June 1 hire or earlier. Whomever takes on the permanent role will face an enormous task: establishing foundational analytics goals for the Defense Department, helping it better define AI for its enterprise operations, and providing best practices for building out tools, processes and reporting to drive toward those goals. Some distinct skills and strategic actions will be needed not only for the new director but for the estimated 200 to 300 individuals who will work under this office.

The Department of Defense today announced that the Pentagon has hired Lyft Inc. head of machine learning Craig Martell as its first-ever chief digital and artificial intelligence officer. Martell will head up the DOD's Chief Digital and AI Office, which was created in December in order to centralize oversight of its data and AI initiatives under a single office in the Pentagon. As the person in charge of the CDAO, Martell will report directly to Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks. The CDAO launched with limited operational capability in February and is expected to achieve full operational capability by the end of June, FedScoop reported. He also has prior U.S. military experience thanks to his service as a tenured computer science professor at the Naval Postgraduate School, where he specialized in natural language processing.

The Defense Department must become a digital and artificial intelligence-enabled enterprise capable of operating at the speed and scale necessary to preserve its military advantage, according to a memorandum issued by Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen H. Hicks. The memorandum, published on defense.gov, John Sherman, DOD chief information officer, will serve as the acting chief digital and artificial intelligence officer until the position is filled permanently. "[It's] an honor to be able to help get this organization stood up while performing my chief information officer duties," Sherman said today in a Pentagon media roundtable, adding that he has worked closely with several organizations to make sure the CDAO effort is launched on a solid footing. "This is a key milestone for the department to become a digital AI-enabled enterprise," a senior DOD official said in the roundtable.

The police have unveiled their first AI officer, with hopes she'll soon be smiling and blinking out of screens in stations all around New Zealand. Ella, the artificial intelligence cop at the centre of the police's new digital services, was revealed at the police national headquarters in Wellington this morning. Ella, which stands for Electronic Lifelike Assistant, is part of two new digital kiosks police have designed to help reduce queues in stations and to provide a modern way to connect with the public. Designed as a mix of 26 different people, Ella is the brainchild of project manager Erin Greally, and will primarily be available only at the headquarters building in Molesworth St, where users can ask for information or be connected to whoever they're visiting. If the three-month pilot goes well, police hope to have Ella's friendly, CGI face spread across kiosks throughout the country.

Levi Strauss & Co. has named Katia Walsh as SVP and Chief Strategy and Artificial Intelligence Officer, effective April 29.