GovConJudicata Weekly Debrief (2/19–23)
This week's Weekly Debrief covers artificial intelligence, best value and GSA schedule, defense innovation, and space industry's desire for clarity on plans for defense market.
AI
"With the release of ChatGPT and other large language models, generative AI has clearly caught the public’s attention. This new awareness, particularly in the public sector, of the tremendous power of artificial intelligence is a net good. However, excessive focus on chatbot-style AI capabilities risks overshadowing applications that are both innovative and practical and seek to serve the public through increased government transparency."
"Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming society, including the very character of national security. Recognizing this, the Department of Defense (DoD) launched the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center (JAIC) in 2019, the predecessor to the Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office (CDAO), to develop AI solutions that build competitive military advantage, conditions for human-centric AI adoption, and the agility of DoD operations. However, the roadblocks to scaling, adopting, and realizing the full potential of AI in the DoD are similar to those in the private sector."
"The U.S. Department of Defense’s artificial intelligence office is enfeebled by a lack of appropriations from Congress and is having to scuttle some efforts to sustain others, its leader said. 'We have to cannibalize some things in order to be able to keep other things alive,' Craig Martell, the Defense Department’s chief digital and AI officer, or CDAO, told reporters Feb. 22."
GSA
"As discussed two weeks ago in this FAR and Beyond blog, the General Services Administration (GSA) has proposed to amend the Competition in Contracting Act (CICA) of 1984 to adjust the statutory authority for the Federal Supply Schedule (Schedule) program by clarifying what constitutes “competitive procedures” under the law. Currently, the Schedule program is deemed a competitive procedure if participation is open to all responsible sources and orders and contracts under the program result in the lowest overall cost alternative to meet the government’s needs."
Defense
"In response to a new era of geopolitical uncertainty and a rapidly shifting national security environment, countries across the world are transforming their military capabilities. And, as new mission needs in this transformation take shape across multidomain operations, different tools are in demand—increasingly supplied by a range of new entrants to the defense industry. National security customers are showing demand for technologies sourced by firms outside the traditional defense industrial base. This dynamic is not new but has materialized in three distinct waves of defense tech start-ups over the past 20 years (exhibit)."
"Space industry executives and investors at a recent U.S. Chamber of Commerce event grappled with unanswered questions on the Pentagon’s plans to commercialize activities and increase its reliance on private-sector technologies. Business leaders said they see bright spots in the defense market such as the Space Development Agency (SDA), which is buying hundreds of commercial satellites to build out a proliferated low Earth orbit constellation for military communication and missile tracking."
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