The 47-page document directs the sprawling Pentagon’s strategic approach for operationalizing those foundational principles and, more broadly, communicates a framework for how DOD will deliberately leverage AI in a lawful, ethical and accountable manner.

“It is imperative that we establish a trusted ecosystem that not only enhances our military capabilities but also builds confidence with end-users, warfighters, the American public, and international partners. The pathway affirms the department’s commitment to acting as a responsible AI-enabled organization,” Hicks said in a statement shared with FedScoop.

Modern computer systems rely on AI to perform tasks that typically demand at least some human intelligence. Though it’s not new, “technological breakthroughs in the last decade have drastically changed the national security landscape,” Hicks noted in her foreword to the pathway. For that and other reasons, the Pentagon has been increasingly deploying AI in recent years to enable a wide range of functions both on and off the battlefield.

But along with the heaps of benefits the technology can provide, it also holds the potential to introduce high-risk, unintended consequences if not used carefully.

“As the DOD embraces Al, it remains focused on the imperative of harnessing this technology in a manner consistent with our national values, shared democratic ideals, and our military’s steadfast commitment to lawful and ethical behavior,” officials wrote in the new pathway. 

After consulting with leading AI experts for more than a year, the Pentagon in February 2020 officially adopted a series of ethical principles to govern its use of the technology based on the recommendations received. DOD reaffirmed its commitment to the principles in May 2021 and published six foundational tenets that serve as priority areas to guide responsible AI implementation across all its components. 

The tenets include: RAI governance, warfighter trust, AI product and acquisition lifecycle, requirements validation, responsible Al ecosystem, and Al workforce.

This new RAI S&I pathway is founded on and organized around those tenets — and according to Hicks, it “makes [DOD’s] RAI policy tractable for implementation.”

Notably, the pathway also adds new, brief goals to each tenet to more deeply communicate the department’s desired result in each priority area. Under “RAI governance,” for example, the pathway directs officials to modernize governance structures and processes that allow for continuous oversight of DOD’s AI use, and to produce “clear mechanisms” to support users and developers in their RAI implementation as well as provide them with a means to report potential concerns. 

DOD’s release of this pathway comes on the heels of a significant structural shakeup that placed a number of its technology-driving components under a newly established Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office (CDAO). In the document, officials outline the roles of that office and other DOD components as they complete the associated work. 

The CDAO’s recently named RAI Chief Diane Staheli will steer and directly support DOD’s ongoing implementation effort, providing day-to-day expertise to those involved.

“Ultimately, DOD cannot maintain its competitive advantage without transforming itself into an AI-ready and data-centric organization, with RAI as a prominent feature,” officials wrote.

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This news comes nearly six months after the Department of Defense launched a major organizational restructure to place a number of technology-driving components under this newly established office, with the ultimate aim to better scale digital and Al-enabled capabilities across its massive enterprise.

“Following a multi-step process from [initial operating capability] to FOC the CDAO has fully merged and integrated the former component organizations of Advana, Chief Data Officer, Defense Digital Service, and Joint Artificial Intelligence Center. Legacy component names will no longer be recognized or used unless attributed to a product or capability specific to the department,” according to a statement from CDAO’s spokesperson.

New hires include: 

• Chief Digital and AI Officer – Craig Martell
• Deputy CDAO – Margaret Palmieri
• DCDAO for Acquisition – Sharothi Pikar
• DCDAO for Policy, Strategy and Governance – Clark Cully
• DCDAO for Enterprise Platforms and Business Optimization – Greg Little
• DCDAO for Algorithmic Warfare – Joe Larson
• DCDAO for Digital Services – Katie (Olson) Savage
• Chief Operating Officer – Dan Folliard
• Chief Technology Officer – Bill Streilein
• Chief of AI Assurance – Jane Pinelis

Diane Staheli was also recently tapped to lead the CDAO’s Responsible AI (RAI) Division.

Several of these officials have already made waves within DOD, including founder and former director of the Navy’s digital warfare office Margaret Palmieri, and Joe Larson, who previously served as deputy chief for the Pentagon’s Project Maven.

In these new roles at the CDAO, the officials will help steer the Pentagon’s strategy development and policy formulation for associated solutions; enable data access and AI adoption within appropriate institutional processes; establish a strong digital infrastructure and services to support military and department components’ AI- and digital-driven deployments, and more.

The CDAO is targeting October 1 for the full administrative alignment of personnel and resources, the spokesperson told FedScoop.

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