There are smart people working on AI right now in Huntsville. That’s the important fact you need to know right now. Part of what we need to do right now is recognize these efforts, share with others, and encourage colleagues and collaboration. It’s only from this kind of effort that we can continue to draw more of this work to our area and be known for AI.

Army Pioneers AI Integration in Security Systems at Blue Grass Army Depot

To enhance military installation security, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Engineering and Support Center, Huntsville (Huntsville Center) is spearheading an initiative to integrate Artificial Intelligence at Blue Grass Army Depot in Kentucky.

Leigh Young, Huntsville Center’s Electronic Security Systems Mandatory Center of Expertise lead engineer, emphasized the novelty of this approach: “We are utilizing AI for the first time in intrusion detection. We’ve used analytics on video streams previously, but using AI is more dynamic.”

Beginning on May 14th, the testing is expected to continue for another three to five years, assessing various aspects including scalability, long-term costs, and system interoperability. One of the primary goals of this AI integration is to provide real-time alerts and detailed information during emergency situations. “This will significantly help us narrow down nuisance alarms and reduce response times for security operators,” Young explained. The system’s learning capability allows it to continuously improve its ability to differentiate between various objects and behaviors, a feature unprecedented in traditional sensor systems.

The importance of this is people here in Huntsville are working on these systems. The only way we will gain, keep, and retain this kind of work is to draw in the engineering community that enables this kind of work and incentivize contractors to seek it out.

AI is Now a Priority at UAH in the UA System

The University of Alabama System is significantly investing in artificial intelligence (AI) research by establishing the Alabama Center for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (ALA-AI) at the University of Alabama’s College of Engineering. This initiative aims to advance AI technology and its applications while addressing ethical considerations. The ALA-AI will foster interdisciplinary collaboration, bringing together experts from various fields to tackle AI challenges.

Researchers at the University of Alabama in Huntsville are already utilizing AI to analyze social media posts to identify and address supply-chain shortages. The system-wide effort underscores the commitment to positioning Alabama as a leader in AI innovation and practical application. While UAH does not yet have a dedicated center, the Invention to Innovation Center (I2C) of UAH has launched the Artificial Intelligence Research Center (ARC) to foster conversations and learning on campus and to the business community.

UAH also Hosted ACHE’s AI Conference

On March 1, UAH hosted the Alabama Commission on Higher Education’s Artificial Intelligence in Alabama Higher Education Conference, drawing over 200 attendees from across the state.

Dr. Ravi Pendse, vice president for information technology and chief information officer at the University of Michigan, delivered a thought-provoking keynote presentation titled “Generative AI – A Force for Positive Disruption.” Pendse emphasized the revolutionary potential of generative AI, likening its societal impact to that of the internet.

AI is not just going to spawn new degrees, it is changing the entire paradigm of secondary education. It is being recognized that if we don’t also change, we will see a vast export of students to other states to study the field.

So what still needs to happen?

We have an AI Task Force that has broken into committees to start tackling these issues but we are talking about a group of less than 100 people actively meeting monthly. While they are incredibly connected and motivated, this can’t just be a top-down effort.

Keep in mind the pace at which this has all happened. ChatGPT release in November 2022. It’s not even been two years!

What can you do as a local employee or business owner to contribute! Here’s a few ideas:

Get involved with the Task Force. We still need more people!
Pilot AI in your organization. Figure out initial ways you can use it.
Learn about AI and encourage that content to be shared among colleagues.
Create business ideas and enter pitch competitions.
Host events or seminars to bring in educators or experts on AI.

I’m very excited to see AI continue to grow. We have been in the innovation “Space” here for a long time but we aren’t quite at the level we need to be. That comes down to more smart people here taking the initiative. Thanks for everything you do and will do!