Marco A. Villasana Jr., DISA Strategic Communications and Public Affairs
In an era of increasingly sophisticated cyberattacks and an overwhelming volume of data, the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) is harnessing the power of artificial intelligence (AI) to bolster national security and support the Warfighter, DISA Chief Engineer Deepak Seth said at the 2025 GovCIO Defense IT Summit.
Seth emphasized DISA’s commitment to staying ahead of the curve with respect to AI, particularly in the face of emerging threats and the need to process vast amounts of data.
“When it comes to AI, we’re operating in a rapidly evolving landscape,” Seth said. “We’re seeing an uptick in use cases. A day doesn’t go by where we hear about new large language models and advancements in generative AI.”
Seth acknowledged the potential of LLMs(Large Language Models), which are trained on massive datasets to generate human-like text and provide information. However, he also highlighted the importance of tailoring these models to meet the specific needs of the United States Department of Defense (DoD).
“What we’ve noticed is that responses from these large language models and the output of these large language models sometimes lacks organization-specific context, or at times, they provide answers that are incorrect, a term that’s referred to as hallucinations,” Seth said.
To address these challenges, DISA is exploring innovative techniques, such as Retrieval Augmented Generation using vector databases, to ground LLM responses in accurate and relevant organizational knowledge sourced from authoritative datasets.
“The secret sauce here is, how do you have these large language models work on your information?” Seth said.
This approach, he explained, will enhance the accuracy of AI-generated insights as well as empower the workforce by freeing them from valuable time spent searching for information to get the job done.
DISA Chief Engineer Deepak Seth speaks at the
2025 GovCIO Defense IT Summit.
(Photo courtesy of GovCIO
Seth also highlighted the critictal role AI plays in cybersecurity, an area where the DOD faces increasingly sophisticated threats.
“The barrier to entry to launch a sophisticated attack has been dramatically lowered with AI,” Seth said. “So, how do we keep up with all this? It’s a cat and mouse game keeping up with adversaries who are constantly evolving and adapting their tactics to stay ahead of defenses.”
The answer, according to Seth, lies in feeding AI models with high- quality, current and relevant data. Data plays a pivotal role.
“It’s not just the quantity of data, it’s also the quality,” he emphasized. “Garbage in, garbage out, so data becomes key.”
By equipping AI models with the right data, DISA aims to enhance threat detection, improve response times and ultimately strengthen the nation’s cyber defenses.
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