The U.S. Army rolled out yet another artificial intelligence-tailored pilot on Friday, this time to dive into the innovative uses of generative AI (GenAI) for its acquisition activities.
#CalibrateAI builds on previous initiatives like #BreakAI, #CounterAI, and #DefendAI, all part of the Army’s 500-day AI implementation plan to safely develop and deploy AI capabilities. Announced in March, the plan’s first 100-day sprint focused on the conditions necessary for AI adoption.
After wrapping up this initial phase in August, the Army is now diving into another 500-day sprint, building on its initial findings.
#CalibrateAI will “explore innovative applications” of the technology for Army acquisition activities, according to Jennifer Swanson, deputy assistant secretary of the Army for Data, Engineering, and Software.
For the last year, the Department of Defense (DoD) has increasingly focused on how AI could not only aid U.S. military operations but also support day-to-day and menial functions typically performed by humans.
According to the Army, “#CalibrateAI serves as an opportunity for AI experimentation and feedback by allowing participants to simplify repetitive and time-consuming tasks.”
It will leverage GenAI to deliver tailored responses to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of information retrieval and analysis by “[harnessing] the power of advanced technology, data analytics, machine learning, and natural language processing.”
“The ability to query curated document sets for generating new content, along with providing citations, will ensure that our outputs are not only accurate but also easily fact checked,” said Swanson.
However, despite the impressive capabilities of AI, officials acknowledge it’s a double-edged sword.
In a June memo DoD Chief Information Officer (CIO), Leo Garciga highlighted that these technologies pose unique challenges such as data privacy, security, and control over generated content. He cautioned against the unchecked use of AI, urging that it “should be carefully evaluated and monitored.”
The #CalibrateAI tool will be deployed in an Impact Level 5 secure cloud environment, ensuring that the AI tool can manage controlled unclassified information data with the highest level of security. It will also include customizable user-access controls to protect “need to know” information and focus on identifying and calling out potential “hallucinations” or erroneous outputs, increasing the reliability of AI-generated content.
The GenAI tool selected for this pilot will be one developed by “one of the Army’s many industry partners, at no cost to the Army,” according to the service.
“By using off-the-shelf AI tools and leveraging cross-service authority-to-operate reciprocity granted by DoD CIO, #CalibrateAI will explore how we increase productivity while enhancing the accuracy of information,” said Swanson.
