The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) has a long tradition of scientific and technical innovation. Maintaining this edge requires the identification and cultivation of Emerging Technology Leaders (ETLs) at the officer level, as well as optimal allocation of technical expertise (both military and civilian) across the broader DoD enterprise. However, of the nearly 300,000 scientists and engineers within the DoD, only 28% work in DoD laboratories, with the remaining 72% scattered across the wider DoD workforce. Within the Army alone, this includes a subset of the approximately 36,000 officers with advanced degrees. Identifying the right individuals to serve as ETLs is therefore a daunting challenge requiring innovative data analytics approaches.
Recently Kairos Research was awarded a Phase 1 contract under the Army’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program aimed at meeting this challenge. Led by Kairos CEO Brandon (Brad) Minnery, the Targeting Army Leaders with Expertise in Novel Technologies (TALENT) project will utilize advanced machine learning techniques including deep language models to identify potential candidates for the ETL role based on analysis of their CVs, resumes, research publications, and related information. According to Dr. Minnery, “TALENT will bring to bear the Kairos team’s deep expertise in human-centered data analytics. Using AI and machine learning to better understand and predict human behavior is an ongoing goal of our research team, and the TALENT project provides us with an opportunity to apply this capability to the growing field of People Analytics while simultaneously advancing the mission of our Army customer.”
The TALENT project is a part of a broader set of initiatives supported by The Army Artificial Intelligence Integration Center (AI2C). AI2C delivers targeted AI solutions to Army missions at speed. Located in Pittsburgh, PA, the AI2C exists to facilitate the development of cutting-edge AI solutions for Army problems by some of the world’s premier AI researchers.
