SparkCognition to develop AI decision-making technology for USAF, DoD
NewsAugust 09, 2017
AUSTIN, Texas. Cognitive-computing firm SparkCognition has signed a contract with DIUx [Defense Innovation Unit Experimental] to develop Stage 1 of what it calls "Project Quantum" to augment senior-level decisions quantitatively. DIUx is a U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) organization focused on accelerating commercial technologies to the U.S. military.
Through DIUx, the U.S. Air Force (USAF) will work with SparkCognition to leverage machine learning and similar methodologies to analyze and reveal latent relationships within data resident across the USAF, and apply these toward its planning, programming, budgeting, and execution (PPBE) process; the PPBE process is the DoD's resource-allocation mechanism.
Using data from the USAF, SparkCognition's technology will conduct macro- and micro-level analysis of operations and previously observed outcomes to best simulate the impact of any single decision, or multiple decisions, made by a person or group.
Subsequent phases of this project, says the company, will be dedicated to further refinement of the SparkCognition model given additional data and testing scenarios, collaboration with the USAF on the design of the user interface, and integration of Project Quantum with Air Force enterprise relational databases.
