NSWC Indian Head Uses AI to Push Its Mission Forward

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the latest cutting-edge technology set to change the way we work, and NSWC Indian Head is jumping in head-first to take advantage of its capabilities. Mark Cavolowsky, AI Engineer and AI Team Lead, says, “I look at AI for the arsenal and for Indian Head as a strategic imperative. We have to jump in. Technically, it’s not in our swim lane. We do energetics; we do energetics systems; we have the EOD [Explosive Ordnance Disposal], and all those things. Nowhere in that chain is AI, but it’s absolutely imperative that Indian Head push ahead and invest in AI to push its mission forward.”

Using AI doesn’t make NSWC Indian Head unique—almost all branches of the military use it for their own applications and avenues. Our nation’s enemies do as well. According to Cavolowsky, AI is necessary and the trajectory into the future as NSWC Indian Head modernizes and becomes the arsenal of the future. AI can make the Smart Arsenal cheaper, faster, and safer with better outcomes.

A unique product for Indian Head is their newly created chatbot, called “ChatIHD.” It is their ChatGPT version for Indian Head. The chatbot is similar in functionality to ChatGPT, an AI chatbot that uses natural language processing to create human-like conversation dialogue. It can respond to questions and compose written content, including articles, social media posts, essays, code, and email. ChatGPT launched in 2022, so this is all very new technology.

While using ChatGPT would be a cheaper option, it doesn’t provide the information security or ability to know what is going in and out of it. It can’t be trusted, and trust is a critical piece. When Michelle Wheatley, a computer scientist, joined the AI team in 2023, her job was to build a new chatbot from the ground up. She says, “I started development of this in 2023, and we had an alpha version available to a small group of users by October 1.”

A team feeds the chatbot with documents-- everything from technical reports, photos and even old ship drawings. Data integrity is very important, and safety is a priority. Wheatley cautions, “If we get it wrong, it could blow up in our face.” In their line of work, that’s not a metaphor. ChatIHD also gives citations, so if the information it provides doesn’t sound quite right, the user can go back and verify with the original documents. Unlike ChatGPT, Indian Head’s version will honestly say “I don’t know,” if it doesn’t have that information.

ChatIHD is still in the R&D phase, so it’s limited to people who have access to their R&D capabilities (mostly engineers). Wheatley says, “We’re hoping in the next couple months that it will be more accessible, and everyone on base will have access.” The goal of ChatIHD is to give all employees access to decades worth of knowledge that Indian Head has. Wheatley says, “We have an older workforce, so how do we keep pushing forward and making progress if we have people retire and walk out with 40 years of knowledge in their head?” ChatIHD will make that kind of information available through a simple search, instead of reading through a 500-page report or hours clicking through the web.

ChatIHD will also give new employees a place where they can go and have a natural language interface, talk to it as if they’re talking to a supervisor, and get the answer back in a natural language. (Kind of like asking “Alexa” questions.)

Workforce and AI

About ChatIHD, Cavolowsky explains, “We need to make sure we have the right people developing it, but we also need people who have the skills to understand it and get the right outputs from it.” Retrieving information from ChatIHD goes beyond a Google search. AI understands the meaning of everything. This is called a semantic search.

Wheatley has a pure mathematics background and a Master’s degree in data science and cybersecurity. Still, she says “The stuff I learned in 2022 is already out of date. It’s [AI] moving so quickly that my classroom education and anyone’s class education isn’t going to keep up with where things are going.” Cavolowsky adds, “The workforce will have to be in a continuous learning mindset.”

With so much demand at the base, he has no fear of AI replacing jobs. “We’re allowing our limited and overworked workforce to do more with less,” says Cavolowsky. “And as great as ChatIHD is, we’re looking at how AI fits into all of our systems. Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn’t. Many times there is a strong use for it, and we’re trying to push that at the arsenal.”

Public Affairs Officer Matt O’Neal commented, “What these two [Cavolowsky and Wheatley] are doing with ChatIHD might have a lot more longevity than anything else we’re doing. Yes, we make solid rocket motors that go in missiles and actually fly, but what they’re putting together could be around 50 or 100 years from now.”