Summer Myatt
Artificial intelligence is the next big game-changing technology for the U.S. military. But how can Navy officials rapidly derive insights from data and act upon those insights? What factors are standing in the way of data-driven decision making, and what opportunities lie ahead?
Navy leaders, GovCon industry executives and naval experts will come together to discuss this and other pressing questions during the “Harnessing AI for Mission Impact” panel at the Potomac Officers Club’s 2024 Navy Summit on Aug. 15. Join the conversation to hear topics like:
- How we can best coalesce all of the mission data, regardless of mission partner, the platform of collection, or sensitivity of the information in order to leverage AI ML, and course of action analytics
- How to then share that info at the data level
- How do we get the most important information to the right decision maker or shooter at the right time in the right circumstance?
Meet the “Harnessing AI for Mission Impact” Panelists
Jay Meil
Jay Meil is the chief data scientist and vice president of artificial intelligence and data analytics at SAIC, and he is slated to moderate this panel discussion. In his current role, Meil leads SAIC’s AI technical strategy and oversees products that enable rapid decision-making in support of areas like command, control, communications, computers, cyber, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, known as C5ISR. Meil is also the chair of SAIC’s AI Council.
In addition to his work at SAIC, Meil is on the Security Industry Association AI Advisory Board, and he has been invited to be a member of NIST’s U.S. Artificial Intelligence Safety Institute Consortium.
Meil serves as a technical adviser and holds a number of positions across federal government agencies and organizations, including:
- Senior Subject Matter Expert for USSOCOM Technical Experimentation
- Technical SME and Lead Data Scientist for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI)
- Data Exploitation and Algorithmic Warfare for the Joint Special Operations Command
- Lead Data Scientist for the U.S. Department of Justice
- Technical Lead and SME for NASA
Meil is a longtime participant in Potomac Officers Club events. Here are some insights he has shared with Potomac Officers Club audiences in recent years:
- Decisions are only as good as the data upon which they are made, Meil shared at the 2023 Army Summit. Meil said he focuses on two major factors concerning data: One is making sure the data is conditioned, harmonized and labeled appropriately, while the other is understanding how the warfighter will interact with and consume the data. Read more of Meil’s insights from the Army Summit here.
- According to Meil, “explainability, interpretability and auditability” are key factors in establishing confidence in an AI model. “Model uncertainty comes from a lack of understanding of what the model is functionally doing,” Meil said at the 2023 AI Summit.
Jesse Black
Captain Jesse Black is the commanding officer of the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, or NRL. In this role — which he has held since June 2021 — Capt. Black is responsible for managing day-to-day activities at the laboratory, such as maintenance and logistics.
Black’s naval service began in 1990, when he enlisted in the Navy as an electronics technician. He graduated from the naval nuclear training pipeline in 1992 and served as a reactor operator aboard USS Bainbridge (CGN 25) from then until 1995.
Here are some other roles Black has held throughout his career:
- Principle Assistant Program Manager for CVN Refueling Complex Overhauls (RCOHs) and Inactivations; and Special Projects Officer for Program Executive Office (PEO) Carriers
- Deputy Director of Marine Engineering for Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA)
- Digital Transformation Officer for NAVSEA
- Technical Warrant Holder and Program Manager for Condition Based Maintenance for Surface Combatants for NAVSEA
- Deputy Division Director of Integrated Power Systems and Steam Generators for Nuclear Power Vessels for NAVSEA
- Federal Senior Sustainability Officer for Energy for The White House
Similarly to his fellow panelist Jay Meil, Capt. Black has previously participated in Potomac Officers Club events. Check out Capt. Black’s insights from the 2024 Defense R&D Summit here.
Cutter Brenton
Cutter Brenton is the vice president for algorithmic warfare at Booz Allen Hamilton. In this capacity, Brenton is responsible for business development, portfolio management, research and development and more. He specializes in strategic innovation and has more than a decade of experience working with military and defense customers on analytics and artificial intelligence.
“In the DoD AI space, there’s plenty of noise and chatter. I’m passionate about shutting down this racket and doing the hard things necessary to make AI real for the Department,” he said on LinkedIn.
Brenton has been with Booz Allen for more than 13 years. He is also an advisory board member for Urban Pastoral.
Rob Keisler
Rob Keisler is the director of data science and AI for the Naval Information Warfare Center Atlantic and senior science and technology manager supporting the Department of the Navy. In this role, which he has held for over six years, Keisler is NIWC Atlantic’s senior technical expert for data, analytics and AI, and he works to deliver competitive advantage for Navy warfighters.
Prior to his time at NIWC, Keisler spent more than 13 years working on the U.S. Navy’s Naval Information Warfare Systems Command, or NAVWAR, which was previously referred to as Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command, or SPAWAR. At NAVWAR, Keisler held roles such as engineering supervisor, systems engineer and software developer.
Col. Juliet Calvin
Col. Juliet Calvin is part of the Joint Staff J-6 for the U.S. Navy.
