DOD Chief Digital & AI Officer Craig Martell Receives 2024 Wash100 Award for Generative, Responsible AI Activism

Craig Martell, chief digital and artificial intelligence officer of the Department of Defense, has been selected by Executive Mosaic for the 2024 Wash100 roster of exceptional leaders in the government contracting sector. This year, Martell is credited for his stance and efforts to ensure that artificial intelligence is used responsibly and within the ethical bounds of U.S. law.

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Notably, Martell called on the U.S. government to strengthen its capabilities in labeling data to enhance pattern recognition in AI and machine learning systems. He said that increased data collection, analysis and labeling will be imperative in overtaking China in the competition for AI.

“If we’re going to beat China, and we have to beat China in AI, we have to find a way to label at scale. Because if we don’t label at scale, we’re not going to win,” Martell said during the Strategy and Warfare Center Symposium in Colorado. “Fundamentally, at the bottom, we have to get the data right. On top of that, we have to get great analytics.”

One of CDAO’s earlier projects in 2023 was a new website designed to help DOD branches carry out monetary rewards for ethical hackers as part of its Hack the Pentagon program. The site also serves as a tool to recruit cybersecurity talent.

“With the HtP website launch, CDAO is scaling a long running program, which historically offered services on a project-by-project basis, by offering the department better access to lessons learned and best practices for hosting bug bounties,” Martell stated.

Just last November, CDAO developed and launched an online toolkit to ensure continuous ethical compliance of the agency’s AI projects. The platform is based on the 64 lines of effort enumerated in the 2022 DOD Responsible AI Strategy and Implementation Pathway.

“Responsible AI is foundational for anything that the DoD builds and ships,” Martell remarked. “We promised to establish processes to design and employ human fail-safes in AI development and deployment, and we’re excited to provide this applied Toolkit for our end users.”

During the same month, CDAO engaged into a partnership with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to grant the DOD workforce access to MIT Horizon, an online learning portal for AI-related topics such as generative AI, internet of things and cybersecurity.

Martell also led the fifth and sixth iterations of the Global Information Dominance Experiment, which uses a vendor-agnostic data layer for the evaluation, testing and fielding of combined joint all-domain command and control processes and systems, including AI/ML.

During the launch of GIDE 6, he said, “Strengthening industry integration and collaboration domestically, and with our allies and partners abroad, we aim to showcase the transformative power of data, analytics and AI for our warfighters.”

While he was a proponent of generative AI, he also warned of the possible exploitation of the technology by adversaries looking to spread disinformation. At a conference in May in Baltimore, he noted that ChatGPT “has been trained to express itself in a fluent manner.”

“It speaks fluently and authoritatively. So you believe it even when it’s wrong… And that means it is a perfect tool for disinformation…We really need tools to be able to detect when that’s happening and to be able to warn when that’s happening,” Martell told event participants.

Three months later, CDAO introduced Task Force Lima, a team that will oversee risk mitigation and responsible development and use of generative AI technologies such as large language models.

“The DoD has an imperative to responsibly pursue the adoption of generative AI models while identifying proper protective measures and mitigating national security risks that may result from issues such as poorly managed training data,” Martell explained. “We must also consider the extent to which our adversaries will employ this technology and seek to disrupt our own use of AI-based solutions.”

Jim Garrettson, CEO of Executive Mosaic and founder of the Wash100 Award, lauded Martell’s accomplishments as chief digital and AI officer. “Artificial intelligence unlocks the agility we need to adapt to complex threats, anticipate future needs and keep our nation on the cutting edge. As the leader of CDAO, Craig is working to accelerate the Pentagon’s adoption of this powerful technology to generate decision advantage on the battlefield. With his expertise and leadership, our country’s AI ecosystem is sure to expand, propelling us to new heights.”

Executive Mosaic is proud to induct DOD Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Officer Craig Martell for the second time to the Wash100 elite. His work is increasingly shaping the path toward ethical but progressive use of AI and similar technologies. Vote for him at Wash100.com.