This BAA seeks revolutionary research ideas for topics not being addressed by ongoing DARPA Information Innovation Office (I2O) programs or other published solicitations. Potential proposers are highly encouraged toreview the current I2O programs (http://www.darpa.mil/about-us/offices/i2o) and solicitations (http://www.darpa.mil/work-with-us/opportunities) to avoid proposing efforts that duplicate existing activities or that are responsive to other published I2O solicitations.
I2O is focused on developing transformational capabilities in the informational and computational spheres to surprise adversaries and maintain enduring advantage for national security. I2O seeks unconventional computational approaches that are outside the mainstream, challenge accepted assumptions, and have the potential to radically change established practices and the state of the art.
I2O programs address elements of four key thrust areas:
- Proficient AI – seeks to advance the state of the art of AI; apply state-of-the-art AI to create new capabilities for national security; and develop techniques to mitigate the threats posed by state-of-the-art AI systems. The predominate research challenge on the path to proficient AI is defining and creating trustworthy AI systems, including in the face of attacks by skilled, high-resource adversaries.
- Resilient, Adaptable and Secure Systems – aims to dramatically enhance the security and resilience of both new and legacy software, with a focus on practical and scalable approaches. The portfolio emphasizes formal methods development while leveraging AI and machine learning.
- Advantage in Cyber Operations – leverages and advances state-of-the-art AI and secure resilient system technologies to produce trustworthy cyber tools and capabilities that operate beyond the capacity or speed of humans. Efforts in this thrust anticipate adversary counter-measures to create enduring capabilities.
- Confidence in the Information Domain – focuses on protecting, detecting attacks on, and measuring the health of the information domain, broadly construed. This domain spans the cognitive level of beliefs and attitudes; the knowledge level of scientific discourse, the financial system, supply chains, etc.; the tracking level, which records the digital dust we leave behind when interacting with the myriad digital devices required by modern life; and finally, the transport level, which delivers electronic messages in many forms and with various gradations of observability.
Submissions outside these areas may be considered if the proposal involves the development of novel capabilities having a promise to provide decisive information advantage for the United States and its allies.
Abstracts and full proposals will be accepted on a rolling basis, with the deadline for final proposals being 29 October 2024.
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Document
Broad Agency Announcement – I2O Office-wide : HR001124S0003-Amendment-01
