Nanda Ramanujam, corporate vice president of strategic initiatives and artificial intelligence operations at HII, recently spoke about AI to 25 general and flag officers and senior executives participating in the Joint Chiefs of Staff Disruptive Technology Course.

The goal of the DTC, hosted at the National Intelligence University in Bethesda, Maryland, was to assist senior leaders’ understanding of the impacts that disruptive technology will have on future conflict. Ramanujam spoke about “AI for Blue Force and Defense Industrial Applications.”

“The Joint Staff J7 is sincerely grateful for your exceptional contribution at the Disruptive Technology Course,” Santia P. Jackson, a J7 representative, wrote after the event. “The engaging manner in which you conveyed how AI can provide real-time insights and analysis to support decision-making in national security contexts left a lasting impression on our senior leaders into the future of military technology and operations.”

Jackson said the DTC fellows described Ramanujam’s presentation as “engaging, informative, insightful, interesting and comprehensive.”

“The DTC fellows were very engaged on the topic of AI for defense, especially with respect to the opportunities and challenges,” Ramanujam said. “Some of the fellows have reached out for a follow-up collaboration.”

In addition to AI, DTC fellows studied biotechnology, hypersonics, microelectronics, quantum science and space, which are among the 14 critical technology areas identified by the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering.

The engagement was led by Gen. Stephen W. Wilson, who served as vice chief of staff of the U.S. Air Force, and James “Hondo” Guerts, who served as Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition.

For more information about the J7, visit: www.jcs.mil.