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Machine Learning Company dMetrics Awarded $99M DOD Contract
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Machine Learning Company dMetrics Awarded $99M DOD Contract

The Department of Defense awarded dMetrics a five-year, $99.5 million production contract in September to advance work on the machine learning platform Minsky, which is designed to rapidly ingest and analyze large volumes of data from diverse sources to identify open source adversarial activity.

What Is Minsky Platform?

The Defense Innovation Unit said Wednesday Minsky helps DOD analysts create personalized ML agents to screen large datasets to detect and extract actions, entities and relationships relevant to their area of responsibility.

The company initially developed Minsky as a prototype following its selection from a pool of 65 offerors in March 2020 as part of the AI-Based Knowledge Graphing project.

The project was launched in 2019 by the Defense Innovation Unit, the U.S. Army and the Defense Technical Information Center, or DTIC, to advance the development of a customized ML tool to help collect, analyze and produce reports of threat activity from web-based, open-source content.

“DTIC appreciates the efforts of DIU in identifying and helping dMetrics navigate the DoD’s procurement processes,” DTIC Administrator Christopher Thomas.

“The award of this production contract establishes a launch point for DTIC to employ Minsky to expand insight into DoD’s scientific and technical information, allowing our users to visualize connections among researchers, organizations, and topics previously unrecognized,” added Thomas.

Expanding Platform Use Across Federal Government

Agencies within the U.S. intelligence community have also used the platform to glean domain-specific insights from technical literature and combine large, unstructured text datasets to facilitate geopolitical knowledge graphing.

DIU said the dMetrics-built platform could support analysts across the federal government by helping them map criminal network activity, analyze foreign news sources or develop a new search tool.

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GAO Calls for Policy Change to Avoid R&D Overlap in DHS
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GAO Calls for Policy Change to Avoid R&D Overlap in DHS

An audit conducted by the Government Accountability Office uncovered the risk of duplication of effort in research and development work being supported or carried out by the Department of Homeland Security. GAO explained in an audit report released Wednesday that the risk of R&D overlap — that is, projects having the same research goals — stems from deficiencies in existing policies.

Possible R&D Duplication of Effort

DHS has five components that receive R&D appropriations and perform research work using that money. At the same time, the agency sponsors federally funded research and development centers, or FFRDCs, to meet R&D needs. Although the DHS Science and Technology Directorate, which oversees the agency’s R&D activities, has a review process to check for overlap, the five DHS components that receive R&D appropriations are not mandated to share their component-funded R&D activities. Consequently, these activities might not always be included in S&T’s review process, the audit report noted.

GAO’s Recommendations

To correct the issue, GAO offered multiple recommendations, including having the DHS under secretary for science and technology amend policies so that S&T is required to check for unnecessary overlap between proposed FFRDC projects and those carried out by DHS components with R&D appropriations. It was also recommended that such additional reviews be documented.

GAO additionally recommended that the S&T under secretary update and disseminate the agency’s list of R&D activities.

GAO Calls for Policy Change to Avoid R&D Overlap in DHS

Hear from various speakers to learn more about the various security concerns facing the U.S. and what’s being done to address them at the Potomac Officers Club’s annual Homeland Security Summit, which will take place this year on Nov. 13.

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Space Force Awards Outside Analytics $215M Contract, Task Order
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Space Force Awards Outside Analytics $215M Contract, Task Order

SMX business Outside Analytics has received a potential eight-year, $215 million contract and an initial task order to provide analytics, data processing and visualization support services for the U.S. Space Force.

Digital technology provider SMX said Tuesday the Deneir Analytics & Visualization Ecosystem, or DAVE, IDIQ contract (awarded by the General Services Administration) has a basic performance period of five years with three option years and is part of the Small Business Innovation Research program’s third phase.

DAVE IDIQ Contract

The DAVE IDIQ contract is designed to deliver software capabilities to drive data-driven decision-making, providing open frameworks to all-domain data integration, data visualizations and sensor processing and analytics to convert complex data sets into actionable insights.

Under the acquisition vehicle, Outside Analytics will work with federal entities to deliver the tools and insights to help address mission-critical challenges.

Task Order 1 

Under the task order, Outside Analytics will continue to develop and integrate sensor data processing, analytics and visualization systems in support of Space Systems Command.

The vendor will rapidly deliver capabilities for the Overhead Persistent Infrared, or OPIR, Tools Applications Processing Laboratory in Boulder, Colorado.

About Outside Analytics

In November 2023, SMX, a portfolio company of private equity firm OceanSound Partners, acquired Outside Analytics to broaden its data analytics and software engineering capabilities and expand its presence in the national security space market.

Outside Analytics provides geospatial analytics and visualization and remote sensing systems to government and commercial clients.

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Energy, Commerce Departments Partner on R&D for Safe AI Use
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Energy, Commerce Departments Partner on R&D for Safe AI Use

The Department of Energy and the Department of Commerce will collaborate in research and development projects on safe artificial intelligence use under a memorandum of understanding signed recently. 

The Commerce Department will be represented in the partnership by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, home of the U.S. AI Safety Institute, tasked under the National Security Memorandum on AI as a key government hub for safety efforts on the technology, DOE said Wednesday.

Besides facilitating joint research and information sharing, the MOU will also enable the DOE and its national laboratories to provide technical support to the US AISI and NIST, the department added.

Focus Areas and Leaders of the Collaboration

The activities that will be pursued under the DOE-DOC agreement include evaluating AI models’ impact on public safety, such as risks to energy security and critical infrastructure. The key tasks for the risk analyses extend to such efforts as developing and evaluating privacy-enhancing solutions to protect personal and commercial proprietary information.  

The DOE and DOC appointed their respective principal coordinators to facilitate the departments’ collaboration on AI safety. The appointees are Helena Fu, DOE director of the newly created Office of Critical and Emerging Technologies, and Elizabeth Kelly, US AISI director as the Commerce Department coordinator.

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PdM AEROS Issues RFI for SIGINT Sensors for Gray Eagle
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PdM AEROS Issues RFI for SIGINT Sensors for Gray Eagle

The Product Manager Aerial Enhanced Radars, Optics, and Sensors, or PdM AEROS, has released a request for information for existing signals intelligence—or SIGINT—sensor capabilities for the Gray Eagle platform for a multi-domain operation environment.

According to the RFI posted on Sam.gov Monday, PdM AEROS is soliciting industry input regarding available extended range electronic intelligence and communications intelligence sensor systems with a high Technology Readiness Level that can be integrated into the MQ-1C Gray Eagle. The office is looking for sensors that can be developed and deployed in 12 months or less.

In addition, the SIGINT sensors should be compliant with the latest Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Cyber, Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance / Electronic Warfare Modular Open Suite of Standards Interoperability Requirements. 

PdM AEROS is also requesting that interested parties include specific capabilities, sensor maturity, technical growth opportunities and hardware or software development.

Interested industry partners may send their responses to the RFI until Nov. 25 at 4:00 pm ET.

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NRO Selects 3 Companies to Assess, Demo Advanced Space Tech
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NRO Selects 3 Companies to Assess, Demo Advanced Space Tech

The National Reconnaissance Office’s Office of Space Launch has awarded Cognitive Space, Impulse Space and Starfish Space separate contracts to assess and evaluate advanced space technologies.

Awarded under the Broad Agency Announcements for Agile Launch Innovation and Strategic Technology Advancement—a.k.a. BALISTA—framework, the agreements require the selected companies to assess and test new mission capabilities that can solve critical intelligence problems, NRO said on Wednesday.

Table of Contents

BALISTA Details

Launched in March, the BALISTA effort also intends to explore other areas of interest, such as in-space mobility and maneuver, on-orbit logistics and sustainability, mission acceleration, artificial intelligence for ground operations and spacecraft propellant particle count.

According to OSL, the BAA intends to create additional opportunities to promote NRO’s commitment to rapid acquisition and commercial space innovation.

“This BAA helps NRO advance emerging technologies across launch, on-orbit support, and command and control,” Col. Eric Zarybnisky, the OSL director, said in a statement.

NRO’s Mission

Driven by its mission to meet the intelligence requirements of the United States and its allies, NRO is working to build next-generation intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance systems to ensure that the right data is delivered to the right user at the right time.

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VA, FDA to Develop Virtual Testing Lab for Healthcare Tools
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VA, FDA to Develop Virtual Testing Lab for Healthcare Tools

The Department of Veterans Affairs and the Food and Drug Administration have agreed to jointly develop a virtual laboratory where promising healthcare tools powered by artificial intelligence can be tested and evaluated, Nextgov/FCW reported Wednesday.

Speaking at the Veterans Health Administration Innovation Experience conference, VA Undersecretary for Health Shereef Elnahal announced the partnership, noting that the interagency testing lab will provide selected parties a safe and secure location to prove their technologies in accordance with the October 2023 executive order promoting the responsible adoption and use of new AI capabilities.

Elnahal said the virtual environment will ensure that AI technologies are safe and effective for veterans and patients and adhere to trustworthy AI principles.

The VA and the FDA are now preparing to establish the virtual proving ground, which is expected to be completed in six months.

According to FDA Commissioner Robert Califf, the testing lab will be the first intergovernmental health AI laboratory, adding that it will support the development of approaches for assessing safety and performance metrics of AI-enabled healthcare products. 

Engage with industry luminaries, thought leaders and experts at the 2024 Healthcare Summit on Dec. 11 as they delve into critical issues such as the rise of artificial intelligence.

VA, FDA to Develop Virtual Testing Lab for Healthcare Tools

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SandboxAQ to Partner With Sanofi to Identify Biomarkers Using LQMs
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SandboxAQ to Partner With Sanofi to Identify Biomarkers Using LQMs

SandboxAQ will partner with Sanofi, a global pharmaceutical and healthcare company, to locate biomarkers during clinical development.

Using SandboxAQ’s quantitative AI models, the project aims to filter knowledge graphs to gain a better understanding of human biology, supporting scientists’ ability to promote trust throughout investigational medicines and clinical development, the AI and quantum technology company announced Tuesday.

Nadia Harhen, general manager of AI simulation at SandboxAQ, said, “The application with Sanofi focused on biomarker identification is very exciting as it increases our reach into later-stage clinical development and the patient benefit that can be unlocked far beyond the early stages of drug discovery.”

SandboxAQ’s Large Quantitative AI Models 

SandboxAQ’s large quantitative models — or LQMs — are trained on numerous data streams including proprietary data produced by the company’s algorithms. SandboxAQ’s LQMs avoid the barriers in scale and accuracy critical to natural large language models trained on public data accessible on the internet.

“Large Quantitative Models, such as those we use to causally filter through knowledge graphs, are proving impactful in many areas across the life sciences, from drug repurposing to reverse screening,” Harhen noted.

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Mark Munsell Appointed NGA Chief AI Officer
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Mark Munsell Appointed NGA Chief AI Officer

Mark Munsell has been appointed chief AI officer at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, DefenseScoop reported Tuesday. The new NGA CAIO will continue in his current role as director of the data and digital innovation directorate.

In his new role, Munsell will spearhead the agency’s existing and future geospatial intelligence AI initiatives. He will coordinate and integrate these efforts and advise the executive team on the utilization of AI innovations in the agency’s operations and production. Furthermore, Munsell will establish the frameworks for the responsible use of AI technology.

Aside from his dual role at the agency, Munsell will serve on the U.S. intelligence community’s CAIO Council. As part of the council, he will help develop the IC’s AI strategies and oversee investments to fund the implementation of such strategies. He will also work on creating policies and guidelines for managing AI-related risks and offer suggestions on the use of AI-enabled architectures.

Munsell started as a software engineer for NGA in 1995 before joining Northrop Grumman as technical director two years later. He then rejoined NGA holding a variety of leadership roles including chief technology officer and deputy director of the information technology directorate.

Prior to his first stint with NGA, Munsell spent four years at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrator working as a cartographer and software engineer.

Munsell’s appointment coincides with the efforts of the IC and Department of Defense to adopt more AI capabilities as mandated by President Joe Biden’s new national security memorandum.

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GSA Taps Government Tech Leaders to Join TMF Board
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GSA Taps Government Tech Leaders to Join TMF Board

The General Services Administration has announced the addition of three new members to the Technology Modernization Board, a group of government leaders and technology experts that oversee funding allocation for modernization projects and provide strategic guidance to federal agencies under the Technology Modernization Fund. The new board members will bring their expertise and extensive leadership experience in information technology, cybersecurity, procurement and financial management to TMF, GSA said Tuesday. 

New TMF Board Members

Pritha Mehra from the U.S. Postal Service, Katherine Sickbert from the Federal Reserve Board and Matt Montaño from the National Park Service join the current seven-member TMF Board led by Clare Martorana, federal chief information officer and a Wash100 awardee. 

Mehra serves as chief information officer and executive vice president of the USPS. In this role, she led large-scale digital transformation initiatives at the agency and played a major role in its rapid COVID test delivery program during the pandemic. 

Meanwhile, Sickbert is an associate director for Technology Strategy and Delivery and monetary affairs at the Federal Reserve. Before joining the government, she held leadership positions at technology companies Booz Allen Hamilton and Salesforce. 

Montaño is the information chief of NPS. He previously served as director of GSA’s Artificial Intelligence Center of Excellence, where he led modernization and digital transformation programs across the federal government. He also held the CIO position at the National Eye Institute and Palo Alto Health Care System. 

In a statement, Martorana pointed to TMF’s role in ensuring that critical agency missions are met.

“TMF investments are enabling agencies to deploy technology that is secure by design and secure by default, eliminate paper processes and reduce burden for customers and the federal workforce,” the TMF board chief stated. “Agencies receiving TMF investments are demonstrating that they can deliver exceptional government experiences for the public.”

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