INTELLIGENT CONTRACTING
Contract delivery and execution can be made more transparent, more efficient and more cost-effective.
the receipt and evaluation of proposals and, finally, enable the award of a smart contract. While most of the data needed to launch the intelligent contracting concept already exist in data- bases across the federal government, the data will need to be sent through a methodical process to clean, organize and pack- age it to allow intelligent agents, smart contracts and blockchain to efficiently use it to execute the intelligent-contracting system functions. By using data the government is already collecting, the intelligent contracting system will be able to feed data to the AI to enable it to, in conjunction with humans, analyze how best to execute each procurement’s acquisition strategy.
Te three supporting technologies of intelligent agents, smart contracts and blockchain must be developed and integrated to provide the dynamic operational capability required to facilitate the procurement process. Intelligent agents will work in conjunc- tion with humans, AI and big data to navigate a contract action through the entire process. By using intelligent agents to facilitate procurement, productivity will be increased across organizations, and this self-service capability will be provided to customers in an always-on and available mode. A smart contract is an output of the intelligent contracting concept that provides a secure contrac- tual instrument that can be used for contract award, performance verification and payment for services rendered. Blockchain is a relatively new technology that has been most associated with Bitcoin and cryptocurrency; however, it has many more potential applications. It is the mechanism that would be used to facili- tate contract award, payment and verification of performance or delivery of goods and services. One use case for blockchain is as a tool for awarding and recording transactions, including contract actions. By using blockchain technology, contracting profession- als can automate the process of contract award and administration by setting parameters for contract award, payment and perfor- mance verification.
Te combination of these six emerging technologies and a trained, capable and empowered workforce will ensure that the intelli- gent contracting system can meet the requirements of the most demanding and dynamic stakeholders in the future. Innovation is the future delivered. How will the government move from
the current state to the future vision of the intelligent contract- ing platform?
BRIDGING STRATEGIES: HOW DO WE GET THERE FROM HERE? Intelligent contracting is an exciting vision of the future of procurement
that uses six emerging technologies—cloud
computing, artificial intelligence, big data, intelligent agents, smart contracts and blockchain. Tis section will cover poten- tial bridging strategies to transition from where we are right now to a future state enabled by the intelligent contracting ecosystem. Although the six emerging technologies are currently used in diverse commercial and governmental applications, implementa- tion concerns and other risks still exist. Te process of identifying emerging technologies and developing a big idea is the easy part. Te more significant challenge is to figure out how the govern- ment will integrate the emerging technologies into a platform that can be fielded and sustained throughout the life cycle of the system. Te remainder of this section will discuss key leader- ship considerations related to cybersecurity risks, new legislation, funding and prioritization and the AI workforce.
If government leaders decided to implement this intelligent- contracting concept, they would need to conduct a thorough risk analysis. One risk that stands out is cybersecurity vulnerabil- ity. Identifying and reducing cybersecurity risks would be critical to integrating the six technologies into a system that complies with government cybersecurity requirements and delivers value to stakeholders. After identifying, assessing and mitigating key risks, leaders must gain an understanding of AI-focused legisla- tion that provides authority to fund the AI-enabled intelligent contracting ecosystem.
Government leaders must become knowledgeable and adept at leveraging key AI-focused legislation. In 2017, the Trump admin- istration identified AI as one of its top research and development priorities by emphasizing the requirement for AI project propos- als to include an “all-of-government” benefit to gain approval. In 2018, the Modernizing Government Technology Act was signed into law to provide authority to fund IT projects across the federal
150
Army AL&T Magazine
Fall 2020
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148 |
Page 149 |
Page 150 |
Page 151 |
Page 152 |
Page 153 |
Page 154 |
Page 155 |
Page 156 |
Page 157 |
Page 158 |
Page 159 |
Page 160 |
Page 161 |
Page 162 |
Page 163 |
Page 164 |
Page 165 |
Page 166 |
Page 167 |
Page 168 |
Page 169 |
Page 170 |
Page 171 |
Page 172 |
Page 173 |
Page 174 |
Page 175 |
Page 176 |
Page 177 |
Page 178 |
Page 179 |
Page 180 |
Page 181 |
Page 182 |
Page 183 |
Page 184 |
Page 185 |
Page 186 |
Page 187 |
Page 188 |
Page 189 |
Page 190 |
Page 191 |
Page 192 |
Page 193 |
Page 194 |
Page 195 |
Page 196
