Tag Archives: Alexandria

How Blockchain Unlocks Government Challenges

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Blockchain is best known as the power behind digital currency, but the base technology has so many more applications. At the root of blockchain is its ability to record the transactions of assets. This visibility is key to the digital transformation of government services and operations.

Supply Chain

The most obvious use of blockchain may be in the movement of goods, providing a record of "ownership" of a specific asset and the path it has taken to get to its present location. The digital tracking removes the challenges of moving paperwork (either hard copy or electronic) between organizational boundaries, enabling a digital token to serve that same purpose.

Just because the ledger is "public" does not mean it is not secure. The U.S. Department of Defense is using blockchain to provide a single source of truth for tracking materials. It has proven to optimize processes and reduce costs, enhancing government readiness. Continue reading →

Department Spotlight: Department of Homeland Security

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The mission of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) may seem straightforward - protect the homeland - but in practice a lot goes into fulfilling that promise. DHS is an incredibly complex organization with a set of agencies that, while focused on the singular mission of keeping America safe, do so in incredibly diverse ways. The Department has laid out six core missions that all support the effort to secure the nation.

Recent efforts of DHS highlight their commitment to these goals. Continue reading →

AI Reporting for Duty

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Artificial Intelligence (AI) is becoming a key tool in the arsenal of the U.S. military. In 2022, the Department of Defense (DoD) launched the Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office (CDAO) to become the "go-to place for talent and technical expertise." It was formed by merging several DoD offices to create a single, coordinated effort to advance AI technology and policy. Specifically, the CDAO is charged to:

  • Lead the Department's strategy and policy on data, analytics, and AI adoption, as well as govern and oversee efforts across the Department.
  • Empower the development of digital and AI-enabled solutions across the Department, while also selectively scaling proven solutions for enterprise and joint use cases.
  • Provide a sophisticated cadre of technical experts that serve as a de facto data and digital response force able to address urgent crises and emerging challenges with state-of-the-art digital solutions.

A key focus of the CDAO will be how to use AI to better coordinate forces in support of the DoD's Joint All-Domain Command Control (JADC2) efforts. Initial tactical goals include:

  • Review the Department's policy, strategy, data governance, analytics, and AI to create an integrated Data, Analytics, and AI strategy.
  • Provide the enterprise-level infrastructure and services that enable efforts to advance adoption of data, analytics, and AI.
  • Solve and scale enterprise and joint use cases in support of the National Defense Strategy and the Advancing Data and AI (ADA) initiative.

Continue reading →

The Expanding Use of Virtual Reality in the Military

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Virtual Reality (VR) has strong roots in the military. Long used for training and simulations, the military has helped develop VR technology and continues to innovate in how it can be used. VR continues to be invaluable to tactical, mission training but is also being used in other training areas. For example, the Virtual Welder Trainer program simulates multiple welding processes, blending real world and computer-generated images into a VR environment to allow welders to train without having to use real world resources. Just as flight simulators save money in terms of aircraft use, other virtual reality in military training applications provide similar cost savings in terms of equipment and travel.

Designing and Maintaining Military Equipment

VR is being utilized in all aspects of equipment management. In the design phase, VR can help engineers test designs in combat environments. It can also help determine if a piece of equipment designed for one scenario might work in another and what changes would have to be made to ensure products can operate in a desert environment as well as in cold and rainy climates. Continue reading →

Looking Past the Cloud and Into Space

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While the focus of government modernization has been transitioning government into the Cloud, NASA and Space Force have their sights set even further. Both organizations are focused on bringing "new knowledge and opportunities back to Earth."

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Show Me the Data!

Data is critical to that mission. Using data, NASA leaders have set a goal to accelerate the time it takes to release innovations to the market by 25%. This data use challenge is common across government, and becomes even more complex when you have to get data from where it is to where it's needed and that movement involves data coming from space.

Being a new agency, Space Force is able to implement many digital born systems, but working with legacy data and systems is a constant challenge that requires innovative thinking. Critical to this is understanding a technology's application to a specific mission and effectively communicating its impact to leaders to help reduce barriers to changing "how it's always been done."

Continue reading →