There’s a recurring conversation in defense circles about leveraging the U.S.’s commercial innovation base for military advantage, particularly in the realm of artificial intelligence. These discussions often focus on missed opportunities and the complexities of government procurement. However, there are positive developments, and the collaboration around the 18th Airborne’s Scarlet Dragon Exercise and the Maven Smart System (MSS) is a notable example. This project highlights how Army leaders, several technology companies, and Pentagon leadership and policies came together to develop a new technology with significant operational impact.
On Thursday, August 29, 2024, the Center for Security and Emerging Technology (CSET) hosted an event to discuss how technology companies and the operating forces worked together to build a substantial new capability for the U.S. Army. The event also examined how the MSS and Scarlet Dragon served as a case study for the rapid adoption of AI by the government.
Keynote speaker VADM Brad Cooper, Deputy Commander, U.S. Central Command, addressed the audience. The event also featured two panel discussions.
One panel focused on the development of software and AI for Department of Defense (DOD) applications. The panelists included:
- Jason Brown, General Manager, Government at Applied Intuition Defense
- Aki Jain, Chief Technology Officer, Palantir
- Joe Larson, SVP and Chief of Staff, Anduril
- Colonel Joe O’Callaghan, USA, AI Fires Officer, 18th Airborne Corps
- Emelia Probasco, Senior Fellow, Center for Security and Emerging Technology (Moderator)
The second panel addressed scaling software and AI for the DOD, and included:
- Doug Beck, Director, Defense Innovation Unit
- Margie Palmieri, Deputy Director, Chief Digital and AI Office
- VADM Frank Whitworth, USN, Director, National Geospatial Agency
- The Honorable Bob Work, Former Deputy Secretary of Defense
- The Honorable Christine Fox, Senior Fellow, Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (Moderator)
The event agenda was as follows:
- 1:00 Welcome
- 1:15 Keynote with VADM Brad Cooper, Deputy Commander, U.S. Central Command
- 2:00 Developing Software and AI for DOD applications panel
- 3:00 Scaling Software and AI for DOD applications panel
- 4:00 Reception
A recording of the session was made available on CSET’s website following the event. The event included live closed captioning. For all other accommodation requests, attendees were directed to email cset@georgetown.edu. The event was designed to comply with House and Senate ethics rules.
