The Defense Department’s Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office (CDAO) will now report to the Under Secretary for Research and Engineering or USD(R&E), a move officials say is central to the Pentagon’s “AI-first” strategy.
“By aligning the CDAO under the USD(R&E), we create a powerful innovation engine that can deliver AI superiority from laboratory to battlefield,” a defense official told MeriTalk.
Created in 2021 through the merger of several digital and AI-focused organizations, the CDAO has since driven initiatives such as the Tradewind Solution Marketplace and the Pentagon’s Data, Analytics, and AI Adoption Strategy.
The impact of this realignment on CDAO’s organizational structure remains uncertain, but a defense official emphasized that the office will continue fulfilling all of its statutory responsibilities without any disruption throughout the transition.