Arrr! Th' government report be sayin' th' Defense Department needs guidance fer acquirin' AI, mateys!
2023-07-01
Arr, last month, the U.S. Government Accountability Office did send forth a bunch o' suggestions to the Department of Defense, advisin' 'em on the proper way to procure AI. 'Tis a grand task indeed, me hearties!
A new report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has found that the Department of Defense is in need of department-wide artificial intelligence (AI) acquisitions guidance. The report, which was shared with the Senate Committee on Armed Services, states that the department has been actively pursuing advanced AI capabilities, but has historically struggled to acquire weapon systems software. Acquiring AI poses additional challenges for the department.The GAO analyzed information provided by 13 private sector companies on successful AI acquisitions. These companies considered various factors, such as understanding the need for AI, making a business case, tailoring contracting approaches, testing and evaluating solutions, and forecasting potential valuable AI capabilities. The report also examined Defense documentation and compared it with the key factors identified.
Based on its findings, the GAO made four recommendations for the department and the military branches (Army, Navy, and Air Force) to develop AI acquisitions guidance. The department has concurred with these recommendations. Currently, the department has not issued department-wide guidance for AI acquisition and has no defined plans or timeline for doing so.
The report also highlighted that the military services lack AI acquisition-specific guidance, although officials have expressed the need for such guidance. Without department-wide and tailored service-level guidance, the report argues that the Department of Defense may miss the opportunity to consistently acquire AI capabilities while accounting for the unique challenges associated with AI.
Possible applications of AI within the department include identifying potential threats or targets on the battlefield.