Here’s how much a new artificial intelligence center could cost

By: Mark Pomerleau  
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The Department of Defense plans to spend $1.7 billion over the next five years to stand up a new Joint Artificial Intelligence Center, according to new budgeting figures. The reprograming documents sent to Congress, obtained by C4ISRNET sister publication Defense News, outline the Pentagon plans to spend $5 million to get the center stood up with an estimated $70 million for the new project to be spent in fiscal year 2018. These funds will go toward the center’s establishment to “rapidly field Artificial Intelligence (AI) at scale to the Services and Combatant Commands (CCMDs) to effectively deploy AI-enabled capabilities in support of DoD’s warfighting missions and business functions,” the documents state.

“Funding will enable rapid development and fielding of operational solutions for at least two lines of effort in the first half of FY 2019 following the same method of delivery and program intensity as the Algorithmic Warfare Cross Functional Team (or Project Maven).”

The FY18 plans include using AI to improve predictive maintenance and demonstrate strategic reasoning in wargamming.

Dana Deasy, DoD’s chief information officer and the man tasked to head up the center, recently said the center will advance DoD’s ability to organize AI capability delivery and technology understanding within DoD.

Moreover, it helps to attract and cultivate much-needed talent in the AI space, he added, demonstrating successful intersection of human ingenuity and advanced computing to include ethics, humanitarian considerations and both short-term and long-term AI safety.