AI and the Navy

Jarwuan (00:04)
today at the summit. So I'm...

So how is everything? How is everything in your world?

Mark (00:11)
Well, going pretty good. I actually did go to a very interesting summit tonight. And it was the, basically was done by the University of South Florida. They have a program that's actually in AI and they've partnered with the government to sort of help build the next AI individuals to help with every different aspects of the federal government. And,

This part of the conversation was a sort of a global initiative where there was actually people from around the world. I saw people from France, Germany, and some individuals from, I think, Australia were there also. And they were talking about AI and the ethics behind it, but what is sort of what's being used from different aspects of the military itself.

Jarwuan (01:07)
Okay, okay, interesting, interesting. And so, what was the highlight of the day?

Mark (01:18)
Well, let me do is I actually have put something together and I have to give a shout out to my favorite friend today is Copilot by Microsoft. So basically it helped me sort of transform this PowerPoint presentations because I just finished up the conference for the day and ran back to my office to sort of put this together. But basically looking at the impact of AI,

Jarwuan (01:27)
Thank you.

Mark (01:47)
and then what's going on with AI and the US Navy itself. And what was fascinating about this, Jawan, is that it was sort of looking at how can AI help keep America safe with such a big geography of territory to actually look at to sort of...

Jarwuan (01:54)
. . .

Mark (02:14)
figure out who are the bad actors and who are not the bad actors itself. And they were just going through a couple things. And when they were talking, Joanne, we're in the business world. And of course, we always have to talk about ROI. How often do you have to talk about ROI in your job?

Jarwuan (02:23)
I talk about RRI quite often, RRI as well as TCO. And so those are two of the hot topics, especially in the sales world, that show the value. But I'm sorry.

Mark (02:38)
Yeah.

That is, it's so true. And that was mentioned a couple of times with his admiral at CINCOM. And basically what CINCOM is, is sort of this central command based out in Tampa. And they really manage all the operations, sort of the Europe and the Middle East. And so for all the wars and things like that, it's been happening. Most of those operations, everybody thinks it comes out of Pentagon, but...

A lot of the operations actually occurs here in Tampa, Florida itself. And they were talking about how they're using AI in multiple ways, is collecting of data and the enormous amount of data that's being collected and how the federal government with President Biden sort of did the executive order for AI, which really

Jarwuan (03:26)
. . .

Mark (03:43)
The nice thing about that particular executive order is sort of getting all the different organizations within the federal government to start talking to each other. And they never really, everybody had their own systems. And I bet you've run across that with companies you've been working with, haven't you?

Jarwuan (03:55)
Yeah, so basically what you're telling me is they're looking to eliminate silos and standardize on some sort of communication ecosystem. So it's more centralized. Is that what you're saying?

Mark (04:11)
Yeah, that's what they're trying to do as best they can, as you know. I've worked in this federal government and sold to it and it is definitely siloed. It will probably be something that I'll probably never see in my lifetime, but that's something they are working toward itself. But, you know, so one thing they mentioned a couple of times also was failing fast.

Jarwuan (04:13)
Okay.

And I'm.

Mark (04:39)
You know, I've worked with startups in the past and that's sort of the motto. If something doesn't work, let's find out quickly. And then see, reiterate and see if that would actually occur itself. And it was kind of surprising because that's not what I have seen in the past with the federal government. So maybe more on the high level technology. Maybe they're doing it, Juan. I would be surprised.

Jarwuan (04:46)
Yes. Yes.

I mean, I mean, for me, I mean, what's interesting about this is AI is still relatively new for the everyday person. And the government has in the past tended to have a slower adoption of newer technology. So the fact that they're already interested in this technology, they're already considering ways that they can leverage this technology. And that speaks volumes. They know the significance of.

not having this at our dispense should, with our competitors having access to it. So that's the volume, too. And I'm glad to see that they're looking to be at the forefront and trailblazers and all of them starting to incorporate.

Mark (05:53)
Yeah, and if you sort of look at the map itself, Juwan, it's amazing sort of how can you cover this much territory because you've probably heard in the news about different terrorist organizations, some are Yemen and other places, is sort of causing havoc with the tankers and also something that just came up was they're cutting the internet lines.

the fiber optics in the water under the Red Sea and Arabian Sea. And all that traffic, internet traffic is really going to the Middle East, which is causing some headaches for them for sure. And so how do you monitor all this territory? And it's amazing how they went and described it itself.

Jarwuan (06:24)
Wow.

Well, I mean, so how how how are they planning to do this?

Mark (06:55)
Well, this is, it was kind of interesting. It's sort of like everybody thinks, well, let's just build more ships. You know, everybody, every country build more ships. We'll just patrol. But you can build almost all the ships you want. You're still not going to be able to cover this much vast water space itself. So that's where they're using drones, unmanned type of things.

Jarwuan (07:04)
Yeah.

I was.

Mark (07:22)
to then capture data itself from that. And which is very interesting to sort of see how it's going about doing that. And so finding these bad actors, Joanne, is that it was kind of simple. So, okay, you have unmanned drones flying all over the ocean all the time. So what sort of logic...

And they sort of went through logic. Okay, I'm scanned all this video. What am I going to do with all this video? Well, first is, do you see boat? No boat. So if it's no boat, then don't worry about looking at it. So you train the AI. Okay, if it's a boat, then okay, is it a tanker or is it a regular boat, a different type like a cruise line? Well, if it's one and not one of those, then what kind of boat it is? And then it sort of does the AI sort of...

Jarwuan (08:19)
Okay, it seems like something out of a movie. You're sending the drones out over the water, scanning and patrolling.

Mark (08:21)
deduces this back and forth all the time to try to figure out exactly what's going on. And then they're using this type of information to know where it is and then where it goes back to so they can sort of trace back where these individuals are coming.

Jarwuan (08:49)
but the water is to detect any unknown objects and then bring that information back. But you really don't need to bring the information back. You can still hover above it, I would suppose, and keep eyes on the target or whatever the unknown object is. So it definitely seems like something straight out of a movie.

Mark (09:08)
Yeah, because the Navy did this task force 59, which I didn't know about until this particular conference, is about leveraging these technologies to monitor this vast amount of areas. And they're doing it, of course, in the ocean, but then also that they are doing this over land itself. And actually, they were using, it was interesting, they were telling us in Ukraine,

they have an app that they have had where people who live in the area, especially in the war zone area, Joanne, you'll laugh when you hear this, is that anytime they see a drone, everybody says, okay, and they will just say, open this app up and hit, I'm seeing a drone. It knows where you are. And then if everybody in a general vicinity is doing the exact same thing, then it can pinpoint where the drone is. So then they have potential.

Jarwuan (09:58)
So they're leveraging that sort of technology to detect and pinpoint where those rooms are.

Mark (10:08)
for shooting it down.

Right.

Jarwuan (10:20)
Now, are they shooting it down from the ground or do they have zones of their own that they deploy to shoot those things down?

Mark (10:28)
They have a little combination of both. They didn't go into it too deep in that particular space. It's during because it was only an hour, but it was kind of fascinating because that's sort of low tech AI. You're using user data to then go up and then that AI is then trying to pinpoint exactly where that particular location is. And so it was...

Jarwuan (10:54)
That makes sense. I and the fact of the matter is that they're leveraging the human element with the technology from an app base to help pinpoint and track those down. And then they're going out and they're shooting them down. I mean, so on the flip side, I mean, it's pretty safe for the attacker as well, because now, I mean, that's unmanned. So even though it's getting shot down, it's just...

They're just losing intelligence, not an actual body. So I mean, it's a pretty smart tactic overall.

Mark (11:29)
And that's where some of the bad actors are using these unmanned ones, you know, where the military, I think three individual military people got, were killed, I think it was last month, maybe two months ago. And basically it's an unmanned drone that was made probably with a 3D printer and then loaded with explosives on it. And these types of drones don't come back. They just have one way mission and it's been...

Jarwuan (11:57)
Comikaze. You know, comikaze.

Mark (11:58)
Kamikaze and then they just come and just make an impact.

Jarwuan (12:06)
Okay, yeah, that's a problem as well. I mean, who's to say that they won't start doing more? I mean, at the end of the day, they're not losing lives, that know, mission completed on Earth, and there's still a major concern that they would want to do those things though, but it's a tactic.

Mark (12:30)
Yeah, and it is quite interesting. And what was, they were very clear that they leverage AI and sort of gathering the data and helping making sure things are on track. But to actually do a strike, it still has to be approved by a human. And that's never going to change from the US government, NATO.

and other countries around the world. There's some countries that, hey, they don't see it that way and they just want that, as you said, a kamikaze type of drone that actually does that.

Jarwuan (13:12)
I mean, nothing to me is impossible at this point. Nothing's off the table. These, I know we're constantly saying we see human interaction, but at the end of the day, these are, they're intelligent. They're learning. They're learning modules. They're constantly learning. I've seen the movie I, Robot. And so for someone like myself, that robot learned. And who's to say we won't have a bad apple amongst the technology itself? I'm just saying, there's a possibility.

And it takes matters into his own hands. So is that not a concern that the nations will have?

Mark (13:51)
Well, they always try to put in those fail -safes where the drone or any autonomous type of AI programming that they, working with the federal government for many years I've done is that there are so many rules and regulations that you have to follow. It's not just like somebody that can just do stuff on the side and, you know,

use a kamikaze type of drone. They have a lot of strict protocols and they really have tried, my understanding of course, as you know, is what you are told versus what's done sometimes is totally different, but they said they have a lot of fail safes. And even Tom, if you're doing a mission, that mission has a purpose and it's already had scouted information advanced, even if you have a drone that you're trying to strike somebody with itself or a missile.

Jarwuan (14:40)
This is advanced technology, but I do, I mean, to bring this back around, so the unmanned systems are enhancing the Navy's ability to strategically monitor in the Middle East.

So what are some of the potential risks associated with this?

Mark (15:08)
Well, there's, believe it or not, a lot of technology that we're using today was developed by the DoD. Your iPhone that I use every day was developed in the DoD. And of course, we know about sort of the internet was developed sort of in that DoD space just so they can communicate back and forth at high speeds itself. But...

It was one of those things that I felt really had a pivot point for me for this, especially when they were talking about, and our purpose of their particular show is educating the public on how to use AI in their work life and or their personal life. And it was no different. They started with Project Maven, which it was the first big project AI initiative that they had.

Jarwuan (15:46)
Okay.

Mark (16:07)
started about, they said about eight years ago. And this particular project was having people from politicians to people in the operations side, you know, the foot soldiers saying, this is never going to work. It's going to create more work than just doing it manually. How many times have you heard that in teaching technology?

Jarwuan (16:21)
I've heard it a lot. I mean, and sometimes that's the case, but it does in the long term eventually pan out to be a cost saving. It's from what I've...

What I'm saying.

Mark (16:46)
Yeah, and this is what it really stood out. When he said this, it's not just technology, but it's culture of the organization. And we've all been in organizations in our careers that when there is change, and I have to admit sometimes it's been difficult for me for change at times, is that how you explain it, but give it a...

a runway that is not like cramming it down people's throat and everything.

Jarwuan (17:17)
They're through exactly. I mean, but, and so the chain management process, and that's not my focus a lot on, I mean, the adoption of anything, it takes time. And that's why I just said earlier, um, over a period of time, if you, if you map it out correctly, you will get the adoption looking for you have to revisit it. You have to continuously educating things are open. But change management because people, people do not really.

like change. We're creatures of habit. And so this is huge.

Mark (17:56)
Yeah, and I found it very interesting because it was, you know, how do you change the culture of the DOD and the massiveness? And then just think of all the different federal departments, because the federal government, as you know, is the largest employer in the country. And how this is going to change how things are done within the government is just amazing itself.

Jarwuan (18:25)
I mean, we're already taking the first step. Like you said, they're looking to leverage this technology to break up silos. To me, that's huge. They're looking to incorporate AI. And I personally think it's still in these infancy stages. We still have to vet out a lot at this point. But the fact of the matter is, we've been in these infancy stages, and we're already focusing on that within our government.

Mark (18:45)
Why?

Jarwuan (18:52)
That's big to me. So kudos again, my hat's off to them for taking that step.

Mark (18:59)
Absolutely, I agree with you. And the human element is, it's a complex environment, whether you're in the war fighter in the front lines of, you know, protecting the United States, or you are the forefront in different aspects of different jobs that you do itself. The human element of AI is not, at this point, been able to sort of think in complexity.

and nuance and that's where I think the beauty of AI and that's where I think potentially AI could be more enhancement to life than a drawback. What do you think?

Jarwuan (19:41)
Nah, well, you know, we've had many debating sessions on that. I'm more so on, let's let this take its course before I make my decision on whether it's going to be truly what they're saying it's going to be. Because to that point, it could still have turned out to be a major hindrance for us. We just don't know yet. There's a lot of unknowns there for me.

Mark (19:56)
Right.

Jarwuan (20:11)
So.

Mark (20:11)
Absolutely. Well, Joann, this is our first stream. I know we are going to be providing more information to the community out there, but we're looking forward to growing the online presence and sharing this information. And please feel free to make comments and of course, you know, subscribe to our channel. And we will do is try to bring you topics that...

are relevant that you want to hear or even subjects that you never heard about. We'll be more than glad to either go to a conference or bring guests on to explain different things because AI is changing every aspect of the world. And there's a lot of people around the world are leveraging AI to improve their life. Any final thoughts, Jawan?

Jarwuan (20:56)
Subscribe to the channel. Give us a quick like, leave a comment. We'd appreciate it all. And I leave on that note.

Mark (21:17)
Thank you so much, y 'all. Have a great evening.

Jarwuan (21:19)
Thank you.