SPECIAL FEATURE
AI in DoD Requires Security, Education, and ATO By Allen Badeau, Chief Technology Officer at Empower AI When deployed military personnel undertake sensitive field missions, operations centers at the Department of Defense (DoD) are tasked with making real-time decisions, such as where to go to avoid hostile forces or when to deploy reinforcements, based on constantly shifting information. These high-pressure decisions often require a significant amount of background information to accurately assess the situation. Normally, artificial Intelligence (AI) would be an easy way to streamline necessary data and support the decision-making process. But due to DoD routinely working with highly classified data, standard AI solutions are not viable. The Pentagon must implement AI that can access and organize classified data. To do that,
it needs to understand how AI fits into highsecurity environments. Privileged AI: Easier said than done Often, people associate AI with one-off unattended bots that automate tasks such as budget management or desk work. But AI within DoD is different for one critical reason: it must be able to work with the same authority as privileged accounts.
This authorization is especially crucial for AI operating at the tactical edge. If DoD urgently needs to know the locations of all the fighter jets within a particular region but receives conflicting information from its numerous classified databases, standard AI programs are not authorized to look through and deconflict the information. The time it takes to find the correct information without AI assistance may risk the lives of warfighters or citizens.
A privileged account is authorized to perform high-security functions that everyday users cannot perform. A system administrator overseeing 5,000 user accounts with sensitive information needs support, but any AI that works within those parameters would need advanced privileges.
To help people make informed decisions more quickly, everyone from the human deciding on the automation gathering the information must have the capability to see all relevant information. While defense agencies understand this, there are several challenges associated with integrating privileged AI into a network.
Often, people associate AI with one-off unattended bots that automate tasks such as budget management or desk work.
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COTS Journal | January 2023