"AI IS NOT A PANACEA, BUT IT WILL
CHANGE THE WAY WE DEFEND AMERICA;
HOW WE DETER ADVERSARIES; HOW
INTELLIGENCE AGENCIES MAKE SENSE OF
THE WORLD; AND HOW WE FIGHT."
national security decision makers. Govini configures these
offerings and deploys them across the U.S. national security
enterprise to help achieve NDS and national security goals.
Specifically, Govini’s comprehensive and objective dataset
and analytic platform enable analysts and decision makers
to have access to information and knowledge rather than
disconnected data points. “We believe that the smart use
of data can transform the way DoD conducts business and
ultimately increase the security and competitiveness of the
country,” says Tara Murphy Dougherty, President of the
National Security Practice at Govini. Furthermore, Murphy
Dougherty notes “Govini integrates multiple disparate
streams of data and then coherently organizes them into a
taxonomy based on how the data is naturally clustered.”
Industries such as financial services, energy, and retail
have proved that relevant datasets, when integrated into
an intuitive analytics platform, help enterprises shift to
a modern, integrated analytical approach. Government
agencies are embracing decision-grade data as a way
to galvanize people around their missions, and the
national security sector is employing these approaches
to accelerate its shift to data-driven decision making.
Data can be considered a crucial strategic asset as emerging
technologies proliferate among military competitors of the
United States. Because of the new competition the United
States is facing, the speed at which DoD must react to these
changes must also increase. Over the past two years, the U.S.
national security enterprise made progress by employing
a data-centric approach. To this point, in 2018 DoD hired
Michael Conlin, the first-ever DoD Chief Data Officer, to drive
reform and new capabilities through a data-centric approach.
Govini’s expertise in manufacturing, curating, and transforming
data in its platform has enabled it to create a comprehensive
and objective picture of the U.S. federal government’s
activities. This includes peering into its supply chain to
identify potential avenues of foreign influence, outline essential
characteristics of U.S. military capabilities, and characterize
DoD’s technological advantages. Moreover, Govini regularly
links and contextualizes its data with DoD datasets, creating
a stepwise increase in these datasets’ utility. “Govini’s data
helps DoD peer inside itself to see where its money is actually
flowing—from strategic planning, to budgeting, to execution,”
notes Jim Mitre, Senior Vice President for Strategy and
Analysis. He adds, “This informs DoD whether its investments
are, in fact, aligned with the priorities laid out in the National
Defense Strategy. And where they are not, why not.”
Instead of data being yet another complicating factor
for already stressed organizations, Govini partners with
these teams to “mitigate many of the most challenging
and resource-consuming initial steps of data wrangling,
thereby freeing analysts’ time to focus instead on the actual
analysis,” says Murphy Dougherty. For example, Govini
recently used its comprehensive dataset, algorithms, and
programmatic techniques to illuminate the supply chain
for a major defense acquisition program. The analysis
surfaced over 39,000 vendors down to 13th tier suppliers,
which helped ensure foreign suppliers are sufficiently
vetted, including examining potential “back door” exploits
in the supply chain. This level of granularity helps decision
makers have a more accurate picture of defense activities,
including private sector partners and associated risks.
GOVINI CASE STUDY: DOD AND THE GLOBAL
RACE FOR ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is already outperforming humans
in many tasks. Indeed, the era of applying machine learning
to national defense is upon us. In 2017, China’s State Council
issued the New Generation Artificial Intelligence Development
Plan (AIDP), which states “AI is a strategic technology that will
lead in the future; the world’s major developed countries are
taking the development of AI as a major strategy to enhance
national competitiveness and protect national security.” In
2019, the United States responded when President Trump
signed the “American AI Initiative,” a comprehensive plan
for American leadership in the development of artificial
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