The U.S. Army is launching a generative AI (GenAI) pilot this summer, with a top Army official saying she is “excited” about the project even as the service proceeds quickly but cautiously because of security concerns.

Jennifer Swanson, the Army’s deputy assistant secretary for data, engineering, and software, said on June 18 that the pilot will seek to determine “how we can use GenAI, not just in the back office, but … what are the other use cases we can develop. It’s not just about increasing archives and videos. What are the other things we can do?”

Speaking at a technology summit in Arlington, Va., sponsored by Defense One, Swanson said that while she is “really excited” about the pilot, the Army remains cautious – for now – about the emerging technology.

“So Generative AI – that’s the thing today,” she said. “Not so much for the government, though, because they are worried about our data. And I think that’s probably true everywhere.”

Swanson added that “we want to make sure because the consequence is so high of having bad information … but we are certainly moving very quickly.”

The GenAI pilot is another step in efforts by the Army and more broadly at the Department of Defense (DoD) to embrace AI technologies on a variety of military fronts. The Army recently invested $50 million to develop AI and machine learning (ML) solutions in areas such as radio-frequency identification and language translation.

Army leaders have said they are utilizing AI technologies to train the service branch’s digital workforce and develop predictive AI models – part of a broader digital transformation to enable better decision making.

Among the Army’s AI efforts is a recent 100-day AI “sprint” that Swanson said identified 32 different risks associated with broader AI use and “66 different mitigations that would apply to that risk.”

Overall, she said, the sprint showed that more work is needed on testing and securing AI.

But she emphasized her optimism about the technology and said public-private partnerships are critical to its further development. “We are in communication with you, we are letting you know what we’re thinking,” she told the audience. “We are getting your feedback, we are adapting our products based on your feedback. We can’t do it without you.”

“We have a lot of learning to do,” Swanson added. “I’m excited. It’s going to be fun.”

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