Roadmap Development to Reduce Risk Associated with the Deployment of Artificial Intelligence Enabled Systems

SUMMARY & CONCLUSIONSThere has been great attention paid to the risks associated with the proliferation of Artificial Intelligence across both commercial and defense sectors. The National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence (NSCAI) report [1] highlighted the need to "establish justified confidence in AI systems," and further acknowledged that "the United States will field safe and reliable AI…" through the execution of existing procedures. This acknowledgment reinforces the prevailing thought from the U.S. Army Combat Capability Development Command Armaments Center (DEVCOM AC) that there are robust processes in place to mitigate risks, such as the Army Materiel Release (MR) process, but the key is how to tailor them to ensure continued application.The Materiel Release process, which ensure systems are safe, suitable, and supportable, as written may be a challenging process to adhere to by AI-enabled projects. There are facets of the AI technology that currently make it difficult to proceed through the process. The authors spent years engaged with MR stakeholders, board members, coordinator, and chair to identify the prevailing concerns, risks, and proposed mitigations, which eventually formed into a roadmap to properly and thoroughly review an AI enabled system. The validated roadmap has helped reduce risks, educate stakeholders, identify gaps, and suggest future solutions to both the process and products to ensure safety, suitability, and supportability to the Warfighter and DoD mission.