Senior Counsel Alex Canizares was quoted in “DOD Tech Outreach Undermined by Contracting Barriers,” an article in Law360,* regarding the logistics of bringing innovative technology into the U.S. Department of Defense.

"Traditionally, for DOD to bring a technology into a program of record can take years," said Alex. "And it requires a significant amount of work, and there's a concern that the pace of technology just can't withstand that. There are a lot of companies that find it difficult to stay investing in particular R&D for such a long period of time."

The JAIC, which is trying to create a department-wide approach to adopting AI, seems to have been developed with the valley of death issue in mind, including addressing the necessary budgetary issues and adopting its own specific contracting authority, according to Alex.

"It's early in the life cycle of that program, but I think that's an initiative that you can really see reflects a recognition within the DOD that in order to bring in the most innovative technology and attract innovative companies, they do need to in some ways think differently about how they approach these issues," he said.

*Subscription-based publication