Special Operations Command Exploring AI Tech.

• Date: 01 July 2018
• Author: Tadjdeh, Yasmin

With the Defense Department investing more funding into artificial intelligence platforms, Special Operations Command is also looking at how it can leverage such technologies to assist commandos around the globe.

"There are many ways that we are looking into artificial intelligence and deep learning," said Jim Smith, the command's acquisition executive.

One is by taking part in the Defense Department's Project Maven, an effort to develop technology that could help the military more quickly analyze intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance data collected by unmanned aerial vehicles, he said.

"We've got folks that stare at screens for many hours in the day watching an ISR feed," he said during remarks at the National Defense Industrial Association's annual Special Operations Forces Industry Conference in Tampa, Florida. "It almost seems custom-made for machine learning-type technology."

The command is working hand-in-hand with other Pentagon agencies on that effort, he noted. "We're on the edge of that for DoD," he added.

David Breede, program executive officer at SOCOM's special reconnaissance, surveillance and exploitation office, said the command is one of the primary organizations working on Project Maven. His office is using its full-motion video...