The Department of Defense (DoD) will harness artificial intelligence (AI) to transform all functions of DoD positively, according to a summary of the Department's AI strategy. AI, machine learning (ML) and related technologies have great potential to transform how the DoD and national security agencies operate and deliver on their mission--but these technologies also require agencies to think in new ways about technology, policy and workforce strategies. AI is generating buzz in part because of its high'cool' quotient-but coolness counts for nothing in national security, where it's all about the mission. Leveraging AI means investing in an AI ecosystem that includes the people, computing infrastructure, data, and policies required to support any organization's deployment of AI technology. As the Center for Strategic and International Studies points out, the technology required to deliver AI results for national security applications differ from what is expected from commercial AI.

Artificial intelligence (AI), according to a recent executive order, is essential to maintaining the economic and national security of the United Sates. It is also the foundation for a new generation of applications that are changing how the Department of Defense and other agencies manage their operations and carry out their missions. And that change is happening fast. The 2018 National Defense Strategy identifies AI as one of the key technologies needed to ensure that the United States will be prepared to fight and win the wars of the future, with defense leaders saying it will penetrate every corner of DoD operations.