AI
Our work delivers digital capabilities that support the Department of Defense's (DoD) effective implementation and scaling of Artificial Intelligence.
5 Phases of AI Readiness
The Defense Digital Service (DDS) is committed to accelerating the DoD’s adoption of artificial intelligence (AI). We understand that becoming AI-ready requires a comprehensive approach, and we're here to guide organizations through the critical steps. This framework outlines the five essential dimensions to empower the DoD with AI capabilities.
Opportunity Discovery
For the DoD, AI offers transformative potential across mission areas. We work with you to identify high-impact opportunities aligned with strategic objectives. Through technical assessments and discovery, we help pinpoint specific use cases where AI can enhance operational efficiency, improve decision-making, and deliver mission advantage.
Data Management
Data is the foundation of effective AI. DDS assists in building a robust data ecosystem within the DoD. We focus on ensuring data quality, accessibility, and interoperability across systems. By establishing sound data management practices, we enable the development of reliable and impactful AI solutions that leverage the DoD's vast data resources.
IT Environment and Security
Deploying AI at scale requires a modern, secure, and resilient IT infrastructure. DDS helps modernize the DoD's IT environment to support AI initiatives. We focus on enhancing cybersecurity, ensuring data privacy, and implementing scalable cloud solutions. Our goal is to create a secure and agile IT foundation that enables the seamless integration and deployment of AI technologies.
Risk, Privacy and Governance
Responsible AI development and deployment are paramount for the DoD. We address critical considerations such as data privacy, and security risks. By implementing robust governance practices, you ensure that AI is deployed responsibly and aligns with the DoD's values and legal requirements.
Adoption
Successful AI adoption depends on a skilled and engaged workforce. Training, education, and change management are often required to empower DoD personnel to leverage AI technologies effectively. DDS’s culture of innovation and collaboration, ensures solutions are seamlessly integrated into existing workflows and deliver tangible mission outcomes.
Project Spotlight
Combee
As a part of DDS's experimenting with AI at the tactical edge, DDS developed Combee, a framework for using Large Language Models as an interface for existing physical systems and equipment. Using generative AI models as an alternative front end, Combee allows operators to communicate and operate systems using plain language, reducing the amount of jargon the models need to learn and training they need to go through.
Axon - Large Language Model Operations Framework
DDS developed Axon, DoD’s first large-language model operations (LLMOPs) framework to align large language models to DoD domains. DDS released a fine-tuned LLM, axon-7b-policy, using this framework to enable boosts in chatbot performance against DoD policies and issuances. Axon was the first LLM deployed to a DoD High Performance Computing Center. Axon proves that AI can be used to chat with DoD data to assist with numerous daily tasks, and can evolve to include voice prompts and text to speech capabilities that will adapt and learn from users.