Researchers at the U.S. Army are working on two artificial intelligence projects to improve communications between warfighters and AI systems, C4ISRNET reported Wednesday.
The Joint Understanding and Dialogue Interface (JUDI) and Transparent Multi-Modal Crew Interface Designs projects support the Army’s efforts for its next-generation combat vehicle modernization initiatives. JUDI is an AI system designed to understand a soldier’s intent when providing verbal instructions to a robot.
Matthew Marge, a computer scientist at the Army Research Laboratory, said JUDI could help improve situational awareness of warfighters and is slated for field testing in September. The Transparent Multi-Modal Crew Interface Designs project seeks to help service personnel better understand why AI platforms make decisions and may prove useful in mission planning.
“We’re looking at ways of improving the ability of AI to communicate information to the soldier to show the soldier what it’s thinking and what it’s doing so it’s more predictable and trustworthy,” Brandon Perelman, a research psychologist at the ARL, said of the second project. “Because we know that … if soldiers don’t understand why the AI is doing something and it fails, they’re not going to trust it. And if they don’t trust it, they’re not going to use it.”
