Can industry help government make sense of artificial intelligence?

By: Mark Pomerleau  

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National security and defense officials are expressing concerns that the U.S. as a whole lacks a strategy for artificial intelligence on par with America’s competitors, so the House Armed Services Committee is engaging with key stakeholders in this space to establish an artificial intelligence commission. Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., held a closed Emerging Threats and Capabilities Subcommittee roundtable on AI with various experts and members of industry, according to a release from the committee. Stefanik earlier this year introduced a bill (since included in the annual defense policy legislation) seeking to develop a commission to review advances in AI, identify AI needs and make recommendations to organize the federal government for threats in AI.

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“We are encouraged by the department’s aggressive efforts with Project MAVEN, and are interested in exploring other applications of AI that combine the strengths of government, industry and academia to forge strong and lasting public-private partnerships,” Stefanik said.

“We have seen progress in Department of Defense artificial intelligence pilot programs, but now we must scale to success.”

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The roundtable included participants with expertise in small business, cybersecurity and AI best practices. Specific companies that participated included Pilot.ai, FireEye, Accenture and Boston Consulting Group.

Their participation enabled the committee to understand industry’s approach in the AI sphere, as well as opportunities and challenges.

“Artificial intelligence and machine learning are topics of regular conversation and deep interest among the members of this subcommittee,” Stefanik said.

“Over the last year, we have explored technology issues that could drastically change the way wars are fought, impacting not only our national security, but our economic security as well. Yesterday was a good next step in identifying where corollary successes exist within the commercial sector and artificial intelligence solutions have already demonstrated quantifiable results.”