AI and Machine Learning to Revolutionize U.S. Intelligence Community

That was the message Lt. General John “Jack” Shanahan — the Pentagon’s director for defense for warfighter support — who is hustling to put artificial intelligence and machine learning to work for the U.S. Defense Department (DoD).

Highlighting the growing role AI is playing in security, intelligence and defense, Shanahan spoke as a keynote address about his team’s use of GPU-driven deep learning at our GPU Technology Conference in Washington.

Watch the highlight video replay here.

Shanahan leads Project Maven, an effort launched in April to put machine learning and AI to work in the DoD, starting with efforts to turn the countless hours of aerial video surveillance collected by the U.S. military into actionable intelligence.

“We have analysts looking at full-motion video surveillance streams, staring at screens 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 hours at a time. They’re doing the same thing photographic interpreters were doing in World War II,” Shanahan said. “These are the finest, most well-trained analysts in the world.”

That’s going to change. “Let the machines do what machines do well, and let humans do what only humans can do. AI will free human analysts to do what they do best,” Lt. Gen. Jack Shanahan said.

‘Start Small, Stay Focused, Win Early’

Shanahan’s 50-minute keynote, however, put a spotlight on how deeply AI is impacting the world security, intelligence and defense.

The defense community is facing a huge challenge: it has more and better sensors than ever — but it’s struggling to make the most out of all that data, Shanahan said. “The world has changed, we’re in a data-driven environment,” he said. “More people are not the answer; better tools are the answer.”

After consulting with experts in academia, government, defense and industry, Shanahan and his team came up with a strategy that mirrors the one used by technology companies: “start small, stay focused, win early.”

Project Maven has an aggressive timeline: launched earlier this year, it will deliver AI-based algorithms for some of the military’s unmanned aerial systems by the end of next year.

Further out, Shanahan sees many more opportunities for human-machine teaming. His plan is to inspire his colleagues to use AI and machine learning to “augment, automate and amplify.”

“We’re not talking yet about replacing analysts, we’re giving them time to think,” he said.

AI Everywhere

“The pebble called Maven has been dropped into the DOD operational pond.” Shanahan sees Project Maven as a force that will ripple across the entire defense community. AI and machine learning, Shanahan said, need to be pushed into everything the Department of Defense does.

“The Department of Defense should not buy another weapons system without AI,” he said.

Learn more at www.nvidia.com/federal.

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