The Department of Defense’s Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office (CDAO) is the senior official responsible for the acceleration of the DoD’s adoption of data, analytics, and AI to generate decision advantage across, from the boardroom to the battlefield.

Stood up in February 2022 by integrating the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center (JAIC), Defense Digital Services (DDS), the Chief Data Officer, and the enterprise platform Advana into one organization, the CDAO is building a strong foundation for data, analytic, and AI-enabled capabilities to be developed and fielded at scale. Part of this foundation is ensuring the Department has the necessary people, platforms, and processes needed to continuously provide business leaders and warfighters with agile solutions.

The CDAO will perform several critical functions in close coordination with the Services, Joint Staff, CIO, USD (R&E), and other digital leaders:

• Lead the Department’s strategy and policy on data, analytics, and AI adoption, as well as govern and oversee efforts across the Department.
• Enable the development of digital and AI-enabled solutions across the Department, while also selectively scaling proven solutions for enterprise and joint use cases.
• Provide a sophisticated cadre of technical experts that serve as a de facto data and digital response force able to address urgent crises and emerging challenges with state of the art digital solutions.

The CDAO’s functions reflect the rising strategic value of information to decision-making and advanced capabilities from the boardroom to the battlefield. The CDAO’s form reflects the leadership the Department needs to accelerate its progress in harnessing information within a rapidly changing technology landscape.

The CDAO achieved full operating capability on 1 June 2022 and is expected to have an immediate impact by providing several concrete deliverables this year.

• Review and more tightly integrate the Department’s policy, strategy, and governance of data, analytics, AI, to include an integrated Data, Analytics and AI Strategy as well as maturing a Responsible AI Ecosystem.
• Provide the enterprise-level infrastructure and services that enable efforts to advance adoption of data, analytics, and AI, to include an expanded and more accessible enterprise data repository and data catalogue with designated authoritative data sources, common data models for enterprise and joint use cases, as well associated coding and algorithms to serve as a “public good” as Department stakeholders put data on the offensive.
• Solve and scale enterprise and joint use cases, including executive analytics to measure progress on implementation of the forthcoming 2022 National Defense Strategy, a common operational picture for Combatant Commanders from the operational to the strategic level as part of the Advancing Data and AI (ADA) initiative, and better tools and analytics to assist the Department’s senior leaders and Combatant Commanders with dynamic campaigning.

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