Why is there no significant investment in GenAI in the DoD to date? This panel was a masterclass in the answer…

In short, Machine Learning is currently viewed as the more worthy investment so it gets the focus, and GenAI is a wonderful thing for our adversaries to waste their money on pursuing. Agree or disagree, that was the doomer message coming from experts on the panel, leaving only the commercial reps to try and salvage some kind of worth to pursuing the technology in a meaningful way within the DoD.

Regardless of the accuracy or validity of either the doomer or proponent narratives from the panel, the fundamental disconnect in strategic viewpoints drives the deprioritization of the technology versus other alternatives. We can want anything for any reason, but unless leadership prioritizes it there is no funding, without funding there is no capability. Leadership isn’t going to prioritize anything if there is not some kind of baseline consensus on the value of a thing to start with.

The primary takeaway here is that if you want it, you are going to have to pay for it yourself. Do not look for a free mass GenAI capability for everyone provided from on high anytime soon. It is a pay-as-you-go world for GenAI in the DoD…so grab your checkbook and let’s go!