Pentagon – Law Enforcement, Military, and Terrorism News

Artificial intelligence will increasingly — and dramatically — improve systems across the Defense Department, the director of the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center said.

Army Lt. Gen. John N.T. ”Jack” Shanahan spoke remotely from the Pentagon yesterday with Dave Deptula, dean of the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies.

”It is my conviction and deep passion that AI will transform the character of warfare in the Department of Defense in the course of the next 20 years,” Shanahan said. ”There is no part of the department that will not be impacted by this, from the back office to the battlefield, from under sea to cyberspace and outer space, and all points in between.”

Artificial intelligence, often called AI, has been happening in commercial industry, but that effort only started in earnest in the department about 10 years ago, he noted, but ”we’ve been stuck in first gear in terms of fielding.”

DOD has long struggled with how to take the world’s best research and development and field it at speed and at scale, he added.

Since the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center began operations about two years ago, all of the foundational elements have been put into place, Shanahan said, noting that the center now has 185 employees with a $1.3 billion annual budget.

Shanahan elaborated on what artificial intelligence foundational elements mean — including AI strategy, policy, ethics, coalition partnerships, rules of engagement, user testing and evaluation.

All those elements were brought into the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center, where integrated product teams for projects do all of that work simultaneously, as opposed to sequentially, he said. ”In the department, those tend to happen in very different places, and sometimes they don’t happen at all.”

The center’s initiatives are focused on lower-consequence, lower-risk missions such as preventive maintenance, humanitarian assistance, defensive cyber and business process transformation, he said.

But perhaps the most important current focus is on joint warfighting operations, he said.

Over the next one to two years, the goal will be delivery of these AI-enabled systems to the warfighter, he said. ”We have to show we’re making a difference,” he added.

Shanahan said moving the department from being an industrial age, hardware-driven force to being an information-age, software-driven, more risk-tolerant one won’t be easy. Nor will it be easy to choose where to take those risks and how to take those risks, he said.

”We’re dealing with 60 years of legacy systems, legacy workflows, legacy talent management. You can’t just bolt those cutting-edge technologies onto … legacy equipment and expect to transform the Department of Defense,” he said, adding that, culturally, AI has to be in the fabric of the department and what DOD does every single day.

Defense.gov (June 2020) Experts Predict Artificial Intelligence Will Transform Warfare

An Arkansas man will make his initial appearance in federal court at 2 p.m. today on charges relating to his alleged attempt at blowing up a vehicle at the Pentagon yesterday.

According to court documents, Matthew Dmitri Richardson, 19, of Fayetteville, was discovered in the Pentagon North Parking lot yesterday morning by a Pentagon Police Officer on patrol. The officer allegedly observed Richardson standing next to a vehicle striking a cigarette lighter to a piece of fabric that was inserted into the vehicle’s gas tank.

After the officer approached Richardson, the defendant allegedly told the officer he was going to “blow this vehicle up” and “himself”. When the officer attempted to detain Richardson, Richardson pulled away and ran across the parking lot towards Virginia State Route 110 and onto Virginia State Route 27.

A subsequent review of surveillance camera footage showed that Richardson jumped over a fence into Arlington National Cemetery. Richardson was later found by the Pentagon Force Protection Agency Police Emergency Response Team near Arlington House.

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According to court documents, after a search of Richardson, officers allegedly discovered a cigarette lighter, gloves, and court documents related to Richardson’s arrest on or about February 22 for two counts of felony assault on a law enforcement officer in Arlington County.

According to court documents, the owner of the vehicle is an active duty servicemember and does not know Richardson.

Richardson is charged with maliciously attempting to damage and destroy by means of fire, a vehicle used in and affecting interstate and foreign commerce.

If convicted, he faces a mandatory minimum of five years in prison and a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Woodrow G. Kusse, Chief of Pentagon Police, made the announcement. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Embroski and Assistant U.S. Attorney Marc J. Birnbaum are prosecuting the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:20-mj-86.

Justice.gov (February, 2020) Man Arrested for Attempting to Blow Up Vehicle at Pentagon

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