A top research official with the U.S. Navy said the service is looking at artificial intelligence to improve logistics and decision-making in future missions, Federal News Network reported Friday.

Rear Adm. David Hahn, chief of naval research, said the Navy could utilize AI the same way private companies like Amazon use the technology to deliver goods and optimize a set of distribution and delivery mechanisms. He added that AI tools provide the ability “to connect to a wide variety of customers… and to rapidly access a global logistics chain with end products.” 

Military leaders could use machine learning to speed up decision-making in future conflicts. Hahn said commanders may use the technology to analyze incomplete or false information despite operating with disadvantaged communication systems or in harsh environments. The private sector is helping boost the use of AI in the U.S. Hahn also said firms have been funding research and development projects to “rapidly move from discovery to application to create things.”

The Department of Education, the Office of Management and Budget and the CIO Council have established the first Federal Cyber Reskilling Academy to provide federal employees hands-on training on cybersecurity.

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The council said Friday the program is part of President Trump’s Management Agenda and the new Government Reform Plan. The first class of the academy is open to government employees not working on information technology-related tasks. The three-month curriculum includes three training courses with a boot camp and certification tests to prepare new cyber defense analysts. 

“Cybersecurity is a key priority for this administration,” said Federal CIO Suzette Kent. “This is why we need to continue to transform and modernize our efforts to improve our cyber posture.” 

Federal employees have until Jan. 11, 2019, to register for the reskilling academy.

Ajit Pai, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, has said he believes artificial intelligence, machine learning and other emerging technologies could help build up the decision-making process and revolutionize the communications sector.

Pai made the remarks Friday at the FCC-hosted Forum on AI and Machine Learning held in Washington, D.C.

He mentioned two AI-based applications – Microsoft’s Seeing AI and IBM’s Content Clarifier – and how such tools work to help people with visual and cognitive disabilities.

Pai noted that the event sought to focus on demonstration and discussion about AI and other emerging tech.

“And when dealing with emerging technologies, I believe that one of the foundational principles for government should be regulatory humility,” he added.
 

The Defense Department held its second AI Industry Day in partnership with the Army Research Lab to discuss the agency’s progress in artificial intelligence and to identify additional partnership opportunities. The DoD said Thursday the event in Silver Spring, Md., gathered more than 600 attendees from 380 industries, academia and government organizations. 

Dana Deasy, chief information officer at the Pentagon, provided updates on the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center. JIAC was established in early 2018 and now consists of nearly 25 representatives from across the DoD. The agency plans to establish the center’s main office in the national capital region and satellite locations across the U.S. to connect innovation districts. 

“Our goal is for the JAIC to have and deliver the capabilities to solve very large, unique problem sets that touch multiple services,” Deasy said.

Air Force Lt. Gen. John Shanahan, director of defense intelligence for warfighter support discussed Project Maven. He said DoD’s Algorithmic Warfare Cross-Functional Team already provided initial operational functions and established partnerships with industry and academia to support the AI program. Project Maven aims to accelerate the agency’s integration of big data, AI and machine learning into military intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance programs.

The U.S. Air Force has developed a wearable mask designed to protect helicopter aircrew from chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear hazards.

The service branch said Thursday its Joint Service Aircrew Mask – Rotary Wing works to protect a user’s ocular, percutaneous and respiratory systems and operates with night vision equipment. The mask features a removable faceplate and increased battery life over the previous Aircrew Eye and Respiratory Protection system. Users of the mask would also gain a field of view made for combat operations in CBRN environments. The U.S. Navy will use the mask to replace the existing CBRN protection system assigned to HH-60G Pave Hawk and UH-1N Huey aircraft.

“This joint service program required us to team with our counterparts in the Army, the Navy and the Marines to derive and balance system requirements that met all services’ mission profiles,” said Mohamed Mughal, chief engineer of the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center’s CBRN Defense Systems Branch.