Project Maven is a Pentagon project involving using machine learning and engineering talent to distinguish people and objects in drone videos,[1] apparently giving the government real-time battlefield command and control, and the ability to track, tag and spy on targets without human involvement. Initially the effort was led by Robert O. Work who was concerned about China's military use of the emerging technology.[2] Reportedly, Pentagon development stops short of acting as an AI weapons system capable of firing on self-designated targets.[3] The project was established in a memo by the U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense on 26 April 2017.[4] Also known as the Algorithmic Warfare Cross Functional Team,[5] it is, according to Lt. Gen. of the United States Air Force Jack Shanahan in November 2017, a project "designed to be that pilot project, that pathfinder, that spark that kindles the flame front of artificial intelligence across the rest of the [Defense] Department".[6] Its chief, U.S. Marine Corps Col. Drew Cukor, said: "People and computers will work symbiotically to increase the ability of weapon systems to detect objects."[7] Project Maven has been noted by allies, such as Australia's Ian Langford, for the ability to identify adversaries by harvesting data from sensors on UAVs and satellite.[8] At the second Defense One Tech Summit in July 2017, Cukor also said that the investment in a "deliberate workflow process" was funded by the Department [of Defense] through its "rapid acquisition authorities" for about "the next 36 months".[9]
In 2022, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency took over Project Maven.[10]
