The Air Force is establishing guidelines for testing and experimenting with commercial generative artificial intelligence.
Air Force Chief Information Officer Venice Goodwine said she built an innovation zone within the Air Force’s Office 365 environment on Wednesday to allow service members to experiment with the technology in a secure manner.
“The one thing we are very cautious of, and you saw this, there are those who did not understand the technology,” Goodwine said Thursday at the AFCEA Air Force IT Day. “We’re figuring out ways how do we really just within our own confines of our own data then use this technology.”
According to Goodwine, the new policy necessitates training so that airmen and guardians understand how the equipment works. She also urged against using government accounts to join up for commercial generative AI platforms and putting non-public data into GenAI tools.
Furthermore, Goodwine’s office established a dedicated team with deep expertise of the technology to assist the service in better understanding the technology and fostering it securely and responsibly.
“As an innovator, I can simply use GenAI to assist me in creating PowerPoints.” If I wish to use GenAI for something more delicate, keep in mind what I do for a job. I detonate bombs. And I have to be extremely cautious about how I use GenAI, AI, and any other technology in that environment. So realize that we look at the innovation cycle and decide, based on risk, where we want to go and how fast we want to move, whether we want to be an innovator or an early adopter in that field.” According to Goodwine.
The Air Force has set the objective of becoming AI-ready by 2025 and AI-competitive by 2027. The service currently offers 44 separate AI projects. For example, the Air Force’s contribution to the Defense Department’s Joint All Domain Command and Control (JADC2) system, the Advanced Battle Management System (ABMS), employs artificial intelligence to assist decision-making procedures for combat operations. This technology is also being used by the service to help estimate how a decision will influence a certain program and its budget.
Last year, the Office of the Secretary of Defense established a policy framework for AI in order to accelerate its safe and responsible implementation across the Defense Department. While the military service branches have been creating policies for the safe and responsible use of AI, Congress must take action. The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal 2024, which is presently being signed by President Joe Biden, addresses significant AI initiatives. Once passed, the measure will mandate the deputy secretary of defense to develop data management, artificial intelligence, and digital solutions for business systems and capabilities that will speed up decision-making.
