Lloyd J. Austin III Secretary of Defence | Official website
The Department of Defense (DoD) Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office (CDAO), in partnership with the Office of Under Secretary of Defense Research and Engineering (OUSD R&E) and the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), conducted the first Global Information Dominance Experiments (GIDE) Industry Insights Forum. The one-day event, held at the Hyatt Regency Reston in Reston, VA, highlighted collaborative opportunities for private industry to address the DoD's artificial intelligence (AI) needs while emphasizing the significance of recent GIDE iterations.
Dr. Radha Iyengar Plumb, Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Officer, addressed industry leaders at the forum, highlighting the importance of collaboration in achieving decision advantage. "The GIDE Industry Insights Forum is a crucial event to communicate with government and industry leaders the needs of the Department of Defense to spur innovation and scale AI and digital capabilities," remarked Dr. Plumb. "Working with our industry leaders allows for quicker innovation by identifying the best industry solutions and technology to bring into our enterprise infrastructure to support the warfighter."
The forum featured plenary sessions and networking opportunities designed to foster engagement between government and industry leaders from traditional and non-traditional sectors. It focused on key Combined Joint All-Domain Command and Control (CJADC2) development lessons learned over GIDE 5-11 iterations in 2023 and 2024. Presentations from OUSD R&E's Joint Fires Network (JFN) and CDAO acquisitions highlighted the role of the new Open Data and Applications Government-owned Interoperable Repositories (Open DAGIR) program.
Open DAGIR aims to scale data, analytics, and AI capabilities by establishing a multi-vendor ecosystem that integrates data platforms, development tools, services, and applications while preserving government data ownership and industry intellectual property. The forum was a step towards enabling Open DAGIR by communicating its framework with industry.
"The GIDE Industry Insights Forum validates the CDAO's commitment to incorporating innovation from academia and businesses at every level into its AI capability and talent pool," remarked Bonnie Evangelista, acting deputy CDAO for acquisitions.
The CDAO plans to host similar events in the future to deepen industry engagement further. Historically, such events have strengthened commercial partnerships and enhanced understanding of DoD's technology needs.
GIDE 1-4 were facilitated by Northern American Aerospace Defense Command alongside other combatant commands for rapid innovation in critical capabilities. In 2023, GIDE transitioned to OSD/CDAO with GIDE 5, expanding collaboration across combatant commands and international partners.
The CDAO became operational in June 2022 with a mission to integrate AI capabilities across DoD operations. The office focuses on accelerating data adoption, analytics, AI deployment, digital infrastructure optimization, policy adoption for scalable AI-driven solutions aimed at safeguarding national security against emerging threats.
For more information about CDAO initiatives or upcoming events visit ai.mil or connect on LinkedIn (@DoD Chief Digital & Artificial Intelligence Office) or X (@dodcdao). Additional updates can be found on DVIDS' CDAO Unit Page.
The Under Secretary of Defense for Research & Engineering serves as Chief Technology Officer of DoD championing research & innovation efforts essential for maintaining U.S military technological advantages.
Defense Innovation Unit accelerates DoD’s adoption of commercial technology aimed at deterring major conflicts or ensuring victory if necessary through offices located nationwide including Austin Boston Chicago Mountain View Washington DC.
