07 April 2021

JAIC looks to link AI development platforms across Pentagon, services

by Carlo Munoz

The US Department of Defense’s artificial intelligence (AI) directorate is weighing whether to link its new AI technology development platform with other similar Pentagon and service-led platforms in an effort to create a unified system of systems that will drive future advances in military AI.

Officials from the Joint AI Center (JAIC) are exploring development of a so-called ‘joint common fabric’, which would consist of various AI development platforms like the US Air Force’s Platform One and elements of the US Army’s AI Task Force among others, as an outgrowth from the centre’s own development platform, the Joint Common Foundation (JCF).

“One of our key efforts at this point is to stitch together these development platforms into a fabric of platforms, so as we build our Joint Common Foundation we are thinking about this Joint Common Fabric,” said JAIC director US Marine Corps Lieutenant General Michael Groen. “How do you stitch these operational and developmental environments together so you can share data readily from an army sensor into an air force system, or vice versa. So, we are expanding our approach as we continue to flesh out our [development and security operations],” he said.

Developed in 2020, the JCF is a cloud-enabled AI platform that will accelerate the development, testing, and fielding of new AI capabilities, according to a JAIC fact sheet. Through the use of a common AI platform backed by “shared infrastructure resources” drawn from within the Pentagon and across the services, the JCF “ensures progress [this] AI initiative will build momentum across the entire [Department of Defense] enterprise”, it added.