SUNY Polytechnic Institute in Marcy is going to play a key role in leveraging new technologies to help army commanders make better, faster decisions in the field.
The U.S. Department of Defense has awarded the college a $61.9 million contract, one of the largest in SUNY Poly’s history, to provide the army with advanced, data-driven analytical tools.
The contract, which is based on the college’s acknowledged expertise in applied artificial intelligence and innovation for defense purposes, calls for the university to deliver a strategic advantage to commanders by integrating high-velocity AI into the army’s core decision-making frameworks.
“This award reflects SUNY Poly’s research excellence and our commitment to solving the nation’s most complex security challenges,” President Winston Soboyejo said in a statement. “By working closely with our partners, we will deliver transformative technologies that ensure the army remains agile, informed, and ready for any multi-domain conflict.”
A look at the first project planned
The college’s first project under the contract will work on synchronizing operations across land, air, space and cyberspace to support the U.S. Army Transformation Decision Analysis Center.
With a $5 million appropriation, the project — the Foundational Models and Modeling Perseveration for AI — will be led by SUNY, but in collaboration with the University of South Florida and the University System of Maryland.
U.S. senators Charles Schumer, D-NY, and Kirsten Gillibrand, D-NY, advocated for that $5 million appropriation in last year’s budget. Gillibrand called the innovators at SUNY Poly “the very best of New York’s ingenuity.”
“Artificial intelligence will shape the future of our national security and the United States should be leading the world in developing it responsibly,” Gillibrand said in a statement. “I will continue fighting to deliver the federal dollars needed to ensure SUNY Poly can keep leading the way developing next-generation technology right here in New York.”
The goal of the research is to help the army assess risks more accurately, evaluate strategies and respond to evolving threats, both during and outside of crises by simulating battlefield environments through the integration of generative artificial intelligence, foundation models and advanced interference systems.
A key component of the initiative involves simulating battlefield environments and enabling spatial reasoning through the integration of generative AI and active inference models. These innovations will allow military planners to evaluate complex scenarios before they unfold, improving preparedness and reducing uncertainty in high-stakes decision-making.
The project will also look into advanced capabilities, including synthetic data generation, anomaly detection and the use of large language models and time-serious foundation models to enhance situational awareness. And researchers will work on improving the reliability and security of AI systems operating in areas of conflict and places with limited resources.
“This work represents a major step forward in leveraging AI and machine learning to support resilient and adaptive decision-making for the army,” said Michael Carpenter, vice president for research at SUNY Poly, in a statement. “Our team is developing sophisticated models that can synthesize vast amounts of data, generate realistic scenarios and provide actionable intelligence.
“These capabilities will be critical in helping the army anticipate challenges and maintain a strategic edge.”
SUNY Poly researchers have already spent two years developing white papers, meeting with defense department program managers, aligning SUNY Poly’s research program with the army’s Transformation Decision Analysis Center interests and collaborating with center scientists.
Those researchers include Principal Investigator Bill Thistleton; and co-principal investigators and contributors Arjun Singh, Amit Sangwan, Andrea Dziubek, Steve Schneider, Mahmoud Badr and Emilio Cabanero.
U.S. Rep. John Mannion, D-Geddes, called SUNY Poly a “regional priority and a national asset.”
“I’ll keep working,” he promised in a statement, “to ensure the federal government recognizes what we already know — that Central New York and the Mohawk Valley are vital to America’s national defense with world-class research and cutting-edge technology that helps keep our country safe.”
This article originally appeared on Observer-Dispatch: SUNY Poly defense contract: Using AI, new tech to help army strategize
Reporting by Amy Neff Roth, Utica Observer Dispatch / Observer-Dispatch
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Amy Neff Roth, Utica Observer Dispatch | USA TODAY Network
