Army implements generative AI platform to cArmy cloud environment

The Army has deployed a generative artificial intelligence capability to its cloud services infrastructure, granting users access to the technology in a more regulated environment while largely boosting the service’s use of emerging AI tools.

Developed by Ask Sage, the generative AI platform will be implemented onto the Army’s cloud environment known as cArmy. According to a company press release, the capability leverages Microsoft’s Azure OpenAI — a suite of artificial intelligence services that allows users to apply OpenAI models onto preexisting data. The platform will be available to users up to an Impact Level 5 environment often used for highly sensitive military information, according to the firm.

“It’s a great privilege to bring Generative AI to the cARMY cloud at IL5, where it is the most needed, and where leaders have been truly visionary in their focus on tangible, secure use cases for the technology,” Ask Sage CEO Nic Chaillan said in a statement. “The announcement is just the beginning of Generative AI’s momentum in the DoD — dozens of defense and civilian agencies are set to follow the U.S. Army’s lead and accelerate their Generative AI adoption.”

Generative AI is a subfield of artificial intelligence that uses large language models to generate content based on prompts and data they are trained on. The Army’s deployment of the tool will begin with 400 new user accounts, with a goal to expand to enterprise-wide use, according to Ask Sage.

Organizations across the Defense Department continue to experiment with and adopt these types of capabilities, ranging from day-to-day to tactical operations. Recently, the Air Force launched its own experimental chatbot powered by generative AI — dubbed NIPRGPT — as a way to test the technology on the Non-classified Internet Protocol Router Network (NIPRNet).

The Army’s integration of generative AI in its cloud environment comes just after the service issued a new directive in June on how the service should develop, deploy and use large language models. Signed by Army Chief Information Officer Leonel Garciga, the memorandum provides guidance to military personnel and generative AI developers on how they should use the emerging technology, as well as the potential risks in doing so.

“Gen AI tools have been widely adopted due to their high performance and ease of use. However, they also present unique challenges in terms of data privacy, security, and control over the generated content. Therefore, their use should be carefully evaluated and monitored,” the directive stated.

The Army has also been improving its cloud environment and recently introduced a new version of the infrastructure in response to demand for more cloud services. Known as cArmy 2.0, the follow-on capability looks to integrate new features made possible by recent cloud modernization efforts and introduce automation and simplicity into the environment.