Sponsored & organized by U.S. Army DEVCOM Armaments Center (AC) Systems Engineering Directorate and the Systems Engineering Research Center (SERC) in collaboration with the George Washington University

AGENDA   |   KEYNOTES   |   PRESENTATIONS   |   VIRTUAL WORKSHOP

Balancing Opportunity and Risk: The Systems Engineer’s Role in the Rapid Advancement of AI-Based Systems

The 2023 AI4SE/SE4AI Workshop was held in-person on September 27-28 at the George Washington University in Washington, DC. Abstracts were sought from government, industry and academia for presentations and panels to explore the exciting advancements and challenges in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) and systems engineering (SE). All selected abstracts and presentations must be approved for public release.

The rapid development of AI presents both tremendous opportunities and inherent risks. As AI continues to revolutionize various industries, it becomes crucial to strike a delicate balance between seizing the potential benefits and addressing the potential risks. The conference theme, “Balancing Opportunity and Risk: The Systems Engineer’s Role in the Rapid Advancement of AI-Based Systems,” aims to foster discussions and insights on the responsible deployment of AI in systems engineering and how systems engineering can support the development of robust and ethical AI systems.

TOPICS OF INTEREST:

• Application of AI on SE projects
• Application of SE on AI projects
• V&V and T&E of Learning Based Systems
• Systems Approaches to Reliability and Safety of Learning Based Systems
• Workforce Development for AI4SE & SE4AI
• AI/ML Technology Evolution
• Augmented Intelligence, Cognitive Assistants and Decision Aiding Tools
• Automation & Human-Machine Teaming in Systems and Missions
• Digital Engineering Infrastructure and Methods in Support of AI
• Advances in Explainability, Interpretability, and Transparency
• Advances to Address Cognitive Bias in AI
• Testbeds for Learning-Based Systems
• SE and Data Collection/Curation for AI in Systems
• Standards of Trust and Evaluation of Trust in SE (Technical, Organizational, Societal)
• Impact of Large Language Models/Foundation Models on SE

The conference theme, “Balancing Opportunity and Risk: The Systems Engineer’s Role in the Rapid Advancement of AI-Based Systems,” explores the intricate relationship between artificial intelligence (AI) and systems engineering, encompasses five distinct tracks. The SE4AI track focuses on leveraging systems engineering principles and methodologies to develop robust and efficient AI systems. The AI4SE track delves into the application of AI in systems engineering processes, enabling enhanced decision-making, optimization, validation, and verification. The Human-AI Teaming track examines the collaboration between humans and AI, exploring how to maximize the synergistic potential while addressing ethical and social implications. The Trustworthy AI track highlights the critical aspects of safety, reliability, and ethical considerations in developing and deploying AI systems. Lastly, the Digital Engineering & SE Workforce Development track explores the evolving role of digital engineering and its impact on the systems engineering workforce, fostering skill development and adaptation in an AI-driven landscape. This comprehensive framework ensures a holistic exploration of the opportunities and risks associated with AI in systems engineering, paving the way for responsible and sustainable development.

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

Ms. Jennifer Swanson is the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Data, Engineering & Software (DASA(DES)), Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology (ASA(ALT)). In this position, Ms. Swanson leads implementation of modern software practices including agile software development and DevSecOps, data centricity, and digital engineering across ASA(ALT). Since standing up DASA(DES), she established a Unified Data Reference Architecture (UDRA) which will enable digital transformation by giving Program Managers and industry partners guidance on how to produce, share and consume data. At the direction of the VCSA, she co-led a Capability Portfolio Review securing senior leader endorsement to drive agile development and DevSecOps throughout the Army. And under her leadership, the Request for Proposal process is changing to require industry to deliver using modern software practices.

Prior to joining ASA(ALT), Ms. Swanson served as the Director of the U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command (CECOM) Software Engineering Center (SEC) headquartered in Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD. As Director, she oversaw a global mission, running an organization of approximately 3,000 military, civilian and industry employees, with an annual budget in excess of $700 million. She provided state of the art software engineering products and services throughout the Army.

Dr. Kimberly Sablon received her PhD in applied physics with a focus on nanophotonics from the University of Arkansas in 2009. She has published more than 60 peer-reviewed papers and contributed to ten scientific and technical books. She performed a set of critical reviews to identify technological challenges and research opportunities in the areas of reconfigurable multimodal sensing, communications, cognitive autonomous systems, AI-controlled networks and generative AI that could offer the greatest benefit to the Department of Defense while assessing the risks to national security.

In her current role as the Principal Director for Trusted Artificial Intelligence and Autonomy at the Office of the Assistance Secretary of Defense for Critical Technologies, Dr. Kimberly Sablon leads and coordinates scientific and technological efforts to ensure DOD superiority in future cognitive autonomous systems and hierarchical networks placing much emphasis on testing, evaluation, verification, and validation of dynamic AI systems. To accelerate development of AI-enabled systems and critical enablers, Dr. Sablon has set a strategic vision that is centered around AI systems engineering taking into consideration complexities of the real-world environment. Her strategic vision reflects the need for an advanced intellectual and research base in critical areas, which includes multimodal and interactive trusted perception, Warfighter-in-the-loop design, development and training in live, virtual and constructive environments, autonomous cognition and prediction, distributed, hetero-hierarchical AI architectures to enable edge intelligence, autonomous networks of autonomous systems, and continuous adversarial testing and red-teaming to enhance resiliency of AI systems against adversarial manipulation and deception along with development of approaches for recognizing machine-generated deception.

Mike “Rabbi” Harasimowicz, is the Director for Artificial Intelligence Innovations at Lockheed Martin’s AI Center leading Rapid Prototyping for Cognitive Application Development and Ethical Use of AI. Prior to his role at Lockheed, Mike served as an executive consultant for the Department of Defense’s Joint Artificial Intelligence Center in AI Product Development and as initial cadre of the JAIC’s Responsible AI Champions. Additionally, Mike was the Managing Director of Data Analytics and AI Development in the Intelligent Solutions Group at J.P. Morgan Chase. Mike retired from the U.S. Air Force in 2015 as Wing Commander of the 688th Cyberspace Wing after 25 years of innovating new cybersecurity, intelligence and warfighting tactics and technologies with specialized training as a civilian research engineer, Air Force Weapons Instructor and SAASS Strategy Graduate.