Even as many in the technology sector, including Bill Gates and Elon Musk, have publicly spoken out against the development of artificial intelligence – especially in the military sector – the U.S. DoD created the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center (JAIC) in June 2018. Its purpose is to explore the use of AI, particularly edge computing, as well as Networks of Networks and AI-enhanced communication for use in combat situations by American warfighters.
The JAIC, which also supports Component Mission Initiatives (CMIs) that are specific to one DoD component or agency, remains focused on attracting and cultivating mission-driven world class AI talent to rise to the challenge of harnessing AI to advance America’s security and prosperity.
Efforts to Accelerate
This month, the DoD announced that it had selected Denver, CO-based Veritone – creator of the aiWare, a hyper-expansive AI platform – as an AI partner in a $249 million Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA). Under the terms of the agreement, the JAIC will be able to leverage the Veritone aiWARE platform and key applications for Test & Evaluation (T&E) capabilities to accelerate the government’s full spectrum of emerging AI technologies including Machine Learning (ML), Deep Learning (DL), and Neural Networks (NN).
“We are pleased to be among the select companies entrusted by the DoD to advance its mission to accelerate the delivery of AI-enabled capabilities, scale the department-wide impact of AI, and synchronize DoD AI activities to expand Joint Force advantages,” said Jon Gacek, head of government, Veritone.
“To keep up with the ever-increasing velocity and influx of multi-intelligence (INT), the DoD must employ a platform that can accommodate bespoke AI models to extract actionable insights from each INT type, while also having the capability to test and evaluate all resulting model predictions at scale,” added Gacek. “With the flexibility to test, evaluate and run such AI models, the need to monitor those running processes over time is critical for not only performance but also maintaining costs and processing within acceptable control parameters. Veritone aiWARE allows these processes to scale at the organizational level across many development and operational environments as needed. By making T&E of AI/ML models systematic, scalable, serviceable and user friendly, non-technical personnel can also compare and determine model drift, accuracy, bias and vulnerability to ultimately foster trust and reliance of deployed AI solutions.”
The AI Conductor
Last June, Veritone was awarded a new U.S. patent for its Conductor technology that performs dynamic artificial intelligence (AI) model orchestration through the use of a proprietary deep neural network (DNN). Its Conductor technology was developed to “ingest data,” extracting key features of that data, then review the features of interest and apply any previous learning to select the most accurate AI model to use on that data set from all available models in the aiWARE operating system.
“Siloed single-engine AI solutions will not age well as new faster, cheaper, and more accurate engines come on the market. Many companies will see their ‘modern’ AI solutions become antiquated and costly to use,” explained Al Brown, Veritone chief technology officer.
“aiWARE’s Conductor technology takes the guesswork out of selecting the right engines for the job with its dynamic learning and application of AI models to unique data sets,” Brown added.
Veritone currently has a significant funnel of pending patents and Patent No. US 11,017,780 was Veritone’s 14th U.S. awarded Patent.
Veritone and Machine Learning Operations
The Denver-based company also continues to support a “deploy, integrate, scale and comply methodology” for Machine Learning Operations (MLOps), and it has a number of tools that are commercially available or currently under development, native to its aiWARE platform, which allows users to seamlessly augment and automate deployment, integration, test, evaluation and monitoring of performance at scale in compliance with ethical standards and best practices.
Included in Veritone’s toolsets is the Veritone Developer for uploading and connecting internally developed models alongside previously deployed and other relevant commercial models to the aiWARE platform. Veritone aiWARE is also being implemented at the U.S. Air Force to support GeoINT digital transformation.
“Veritone is committed to enhance operational efficiencies and accelerate decision-making throughout the US government. This is accomplished by providing agencies with Veritone aiWARE, a proven, commercial enterprise AI platform, which significantly minimizes deployment costs,” said Veritone President Ryan Steelberg. “In addition to our recent successes within the DoD, Veritone aiWARE is gaining tremendous momentum within the civilian agencies too, including our FedRAMP authorization sponsored by the Department of Justice. This award is reflective of both the accelerated pace at which the JAIC is evaluating use cases for AI and Veritone’s ability to provide the most advanced AI-driven platform and tools.”
Shares of artificial intelligence technology solutions provider jumped by more than 8% earlier this month on news of the DoD contract.
