Division of Protection (DoD) software program acquisition has lengthy been a posh and document-heavy course of. Traditionally, many software program acquisition actions, akin to producing Requests for Info (RFIs), summarizing authorities laws, figuring out related business requirements, and drafting venture standing updates, have required appreciable human-intensive effort. Nevertheless, the arrival of generative synthetic intelligence (AI) instruments, together with massive language fashions (LLMs), provides a promising alternative to speed up and streamline sure features of the software program acquisition course of.

Software program acquisition is one in all many complicated mission-critical domains which will profit from making use of generative AI to reinforce and/or speed up human efforts. This weblog publish is the primary in a collection devoted to exploring how generative AI, notably LLMs like ChatGPT-4, can improve software program acquisition actions. Under, we current 10 advantages and 10 challenges of making use of LLMs to the software program acquisition course of and counsel particular use circumstances the place generative AI can present worth. Our focus is on offering well timed data to software program acquisition professionals, together with protection software program builders, program managers, programs engineers, cybersecurity analysts, and different key stakeholders, who function inside difficult constraints and prioritize safety and accuracy.

Assessing the Advantages and Challenges of Generative AI in DoD Software program Acquisition

Making use of LLMs to software program acquisition doubtlessly provides quite a few advantages, which might contribute to bettering outcomes. There are additionally vital challenges and considerations to contemplate, nevertheless, and the evolving nature of LLM expertise can pose challenges. Earlier than trying to use generative AI to DoD software program acquisition actions, due to this fact, it’s crucial to first weigh the advantages and dangers of making use of these applied sciences to acquisition actions.

Our colleagues on the SEI lately wrote an article that identifies some LLM considerations that ought to be thought-about when deciding whether or not to use generative AI to acquisition use circumstances. Our weblog publish builds upon these and different noticed advantages and challenges when making use of generative AI to evaluate the professionals and cons for making use of LLMs to acquisition. Specifically, some advantages of making use of LLMs to software program acquisition actions embrace the next:

1. Effectivity and productiveness—LLMs can improve effectivity in software program acquisition by automating numerous duties, akin to producing code, analyzing software program artifacts, and helping in resolution making. This automation can speed up processes and cut back guide effort.
2. Scalability—LLMs excel in processing textual content and knowledge, making them appropriate for context-specific summarization and complicated inquiries. This scalability is effective when coping with intensive software program documentation, necessities, or codebases widespread in DoD acquisition applications.
3. Customization—LLMs could be custom-made by immediate engineering to refine context-specific responses. Acquisition applications can tailor the habits of those fashions to go well with their particular software program acquisition wants, bettering the relevance and accuracy of the outcomes.
4. Big selection of use circumstances—LLMs have versatile functions in software program acquisition, spanning documentation evaluation, necessities understanding, code technology, and extra. Their adaptability makes them relevant throughout a number of phases of software program acquisition and the software program improvement lifecycle. LLMs are educated on huge knowledge units, which suggests they will contribute to a broad vary of software program acquisition subjects, programming languages, software program improvement strategies, and industry-specific terminologies. This broad data base aids in understanding and producing helpful responses on a variety of acquisition-related subjects.
5. Speedy prototyping—LLMs allow fast code prototyping, permitting mission stakeholders, acquirers, or software program builders to experiment with completely different concepts and approaches earlier than committing to a specific resolution, thereby selling innovation and agile improvement practices.
6. Creativity—LLMs can generate novel content material and insights primarily based on their intensive coaching knowledge. They’ll suggest progressive options, counsel various approaches, and supply contemporary views throughout software program acquisition phases.
7. Consistency—LLMs can produce constant outcomes primarily based on their coaching knowledge and mannequin structure when immediate engineering is carried out correctly. LLMs have a configuration setting or temperature that permits customers to boost consistency in responses. This consistency helps enhance the reliability of software program acquisition actions, lowering the possibilities of human errors.
8. Accessibility and ease of use—LLMs are accessible by internet companies, APIs, and platforms, making them available to acquisition applications. Their ease of use and integration into current workflows helps simplify their adoption in software program acquisition. LLMs are additionally accessible to people with numerous backgrounds utilizing a pure language interface. This inclusivity allows a variety of nontechnical stakeholders to take part successfully in software program acquisition.
9. Data switch—LLMs can facilitate data switch inside organizations by summarizing technical paperwork, creating documentation, and helping in onboarding new workforce members, thereby selling data sharing and continuity.
10. Steady studying—LLMs can adapt and enhance over time as they’re uncovered to new knowledge and prompts through fine-tuning and in-context studying. This steady studying functionality permits them to evolve and develop into more adept in addressing software program acquisition challenges related to particular applications, laws, and/or applied sciences.

LLMs are nonetheless an rising expertise, nevertheless, so it’s vital to acknowledge the next challenges of making use of LLMs to software program acquisition actions:

1. Incorrectness—LLMs can produce incorrect outcomes—usually referred to as hallucinations—and the importance of this incorrectness as a priority relies on the precise use case. Errors in code technology or evaluation can yield software program defects and points. The accuracy of LLM-generated content material should be verified by constant testing and validation processes. LLM governance for enterprise options requires constant monitoring and monitoring of LLMs as a part of a accountable AI framework.
2. Disclosure—Delicate data should be protected. Some software program acquisition actions might contain disclosing delicate or proprietary data to LLMs, which raises considerations about knowledge safety and privateness. Sharing confidential knowledge with LLMs can pose dangers if not correctly managed (e.g., through the use of LLMs which are in non-public clouds or air-gapped from the Web). Organizations ought to concentrate on mitigate the enterprise safety dangers of LLMs and stop entry to non-public or protected knowledge. Knowledge firewalls and/or knowledge privateness vaults can be utilized to implement some knowledge protections throughout the enterprise.
3. Usability—Though entry and ease of use are strengths of LLMs, some new abilities are required to make use of them successfully. LLMs require customers to craft acceptable prompts and validate their outcomes. The usability of LLMs relies on the experience of customers, and plenty of customers should not but proficient sufficient with immediate patterns to work together with these fashions successfully.
4. Belief—Customers will need to have a transparent understanding of the restrictions of LLMs to belief their output. Overreliance on LLMs with out contemplating their potential for errors or bias can result in undesirable outcomes. It’s important to stay vigilant to mitigate bias and guarantee equity in all content material together with methods produced through generative AI. Though LLMs can solely be efficient if bias is known, there are numerous assets for LLM bias analysis and mitigation.
5. Context dependency and human oversight—LLMs’ effectiveness, relevance, and appropriateness can fluctuate considerably primarily based on the precise atmosphere, use case, and cultural or operational norms inside a specific acquisition program. For instance, what could also be a major concern in a single context could also be much less vital in one other. Given the present state of LLM maturity, human oversight ought to be maintained all through software program acquisition processes to make sure folks—not LLMs—make knowledgeable choices and guarantee moral compliance. The NIST AI Danger Administration Framework additionally supplies vital context for correct use of generative AI instruments. When potential, LLMs ought to be offered particular textual content or knowledge (e.g., through in-context studying and/or retrieval-augmented technology (RAG)) to investigate to assist certain LLM responses and cut back errors. As well as, LLM-generated content material ought to be scrutinized to make sure it adheres to enterprise protocols and requirements.
6. Price—The prices of LLMs are altering with larger demand and extra competitors, however price is all the time a consideration for organizations contemplating utilizing a brand new software program utility or service of their processes. Some techniques for addressing privateness considerations, akin to coaching customized fashions or growing compute assets, could be expensive. Organizations have to assess the overall prices of utilizing LLMs of their group, together with governance, safety, and security protocols, to completely take into account the advantages and the bills.
7. Fixed evolution—LLM expertise is frequently evolving, and the effectiveness of those fashions modifications over time. Organizations should keep present with these advances and adapt their methods accordingly.
8. Mental property violations—The expansive coaching knowledge of LLMs can embrace copyrighted content material, resulting in potential authorized challenges when utilized to creating or augmenting code for software program procurement.
9. Adversarial assault vulnerabilities—Adversarial machine studying can be utilized to trick generative AI programs, notably these constructed utilizing neural networks. Attackers can use numerous strategies, from tampering with the information used to coach the AI to utilizing inputs that seem regular to us however have hidden options that confuse the AI system.
10. Over-hyped LLM expectations of accuracy and trustworthiness—The most recent releases of LLMs are sometimes extremely succesful however should not a one-size-fits-all resolution to fixing all software program acquisition challenges. Organizations want to know when to use LLMs and what kinds of software program acquisition challenges are finest suited to LLMs. Specifically, making use of LLMs successfully at the moment requires a savvy workforce that understands the dangers and mitigations when utilizing LLMs.

Increasing Use Instances for Generative AI in Software program Acquisition

By contemplating the advantages and challenges recognized above, software program acquisition professionals can establish particular use circumstances or actions to use generative AI threat prudently. Generative AI might help on many actions, as indicated by ChatGPT in DoD Acquisitions or Assessing Alternatives for LLMs in Software program Engineering and Acquisition. Some particular software program acquisition actions we’re exploring on the SEI to find out the advantages and challenges of making use of generative AI embrace the next:

• Doc summarization—Understanding massive acquisition paperwork or a number of paperwork takes intensive and costly human effort. LLMs can present summaries of paperwork and supply an interactive atmosphere for exploring paperwork.
• Regulatory compliance—Maintaining with evolving authorities laws is important for DoD software program acquisition. LLMs can repeatedly monitor and summarize modifications in laws, guaranteeing that acquisition actions stay compliant and updated.
• Normal identification—Figuring out related business requirements is a time-consuming job. LLMs can methodically parse by huge databases of requirements and supply suggestions primarily based on venture specs, saving time and lowering errors.
• RFI technology—Producing RFIs is a vital step within the software program acquisition course of. LLMs can help in drafting complete and well-structured RFIs by analyzing venture necessities and producing detailed questions for potential contractors.
• Proposal analysis—Evaluating proposals from contractors is a crucial section in software program acquisition. LLMs can help in automating the preliminary screening of proposals by extracting key data and figuring out (non-)compliance with necessities.
• Danger evaluation—Assessing dangers related to software program acquisition is important. LLMs can analyze historic knowledge and project-specific particulars to foretell potential dangers and counsel mitigation methods.
• Venture standing updates—Retaining stakeholders knowledgeable about venture standing is important. LLMs can generate concise venture standing reviews by summarizing massive volumes of information, making it simpler for resolution makers to remain up to date.

Authorities Laws and Steerage for Utilizing Generative AI

Publicly obtainable generative AI companies are comparatively new, and U.S. authorities laws and directives are altering to adapt to the brand new expertise. It will be significant for any DoD acquisition stakeholders who’re contemplating utilizing generative AI instruments to concentrate on the most recent steerage, together with safety considerations, to make sure compliance with the altering regulatory panorama. Some latest examples of presidency steerage or rising coverage associated to generative AI embrace the next:

Trying Forward

Whereas generative AI provides many potential advantages for acquisition professionals, it’s important for DoD applications and acquisition professionals to judge how LLMs might (or might not) align with their particular software program acquisition wants critically and objectively, in addition to formulate methods to handle potential dangers. Innovation in software program acquisition utilizing generative AI is about growing productiveness for acquirers and stakeholders whereas mitigating dangers. People should proceed to have a central position within the software program acquisition actions, and people that may finest leverage new generative AI instruments safely shall be essential to all stakeholders.

Deliberate exploration of LLMs throughout the DoD’s acquisition processes is vital to gaining insights into each their advantages and potential pitfalls. By comprehending the capabilities and limitations of generative AI, software program acquisition professionals can discern areas the place its utility is most advantageous and the dangers are both manageable or minimal. Our subsequent weblog publish on this collection will delve into specific situations to facilitate cautious experimentation in software program acquisition actions, enhancing our grasp of each the alternatives and dangers concerned.