DARPA Selects SRI International to Lead Development of PLATO, a Machine Learning System that Could Launch a New Field of Military A.I.

SRI International, an independent, nonprofit research and development organization, announced on August 28, that the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has awarded an SRI-led, multi-organization team an initial $10 million, 15-month (Phase 1) contract to develop a learning system called Phased Learning through Analyzing, Teaching and Observation (PLATO). PLATO is a major component of DARPA’s newly formed program called Bootstrapped Learning. The total value of the effort, if all phases of the development program are completed, could be up to $27 million over 3.25 years. The SRI-led team will deliver a domain-independent electronic ‘student’ that can be taught and can learn in human-like ways. SRI will serve as the systems integrator, focused on integrating all development tools so that they function effectively and seamlessly within the PLATO system. “Our team will deliver a domain-independent electronic 'student' that can be taught and can learn in human-like ways,” said Tom Garvey, Ph.D., associate director of SRI's Artificial Intelligence Center. “SRI will serve as the systems integrator and will focus on integrating all development tools so that they function effectively and seamlessly within the PLATO system.” “Despite advances in programming environments, knowledge acquisition, and learning methodologies, we have limited methods for domain experts to convey their expertise to a machine,” said Ray Perrault, Ph.D., director of SRI’s Artificial Intelligence Center.