Human + AI = ? Lessons from the Pentagon on Creativity, History, and Innovation
Exploring the balance of innovation, security, and creativity when deploying artificial intelligence in government and cultural institutions.
Earlier this week, I joined the National Capital Region’s Department of Defense Historians at the Pentagon to talk about the good, the bad, and the ugly of developing and deploying artificial intelligence solutions across an organization. It was a fantastic discussion, and I had the privilege of sharing the stage with some incredibly talented colleagues who are pushing creative AI solutions inside their organizations.
A few things stood out:
Tools aren’t always available. Because of the sensitive nature of their work and environment, some commercial AI tools can’t be used. Others must be modified to meet security restrictions—leading to dated datasets, which we all know can degrade AI performance over time.
Innovation finds a way. One presenter showcased incredible work with Google’s NotebookLM—using it to turn textual historical accounts into short, engaging video sound bites with spoken narration and visualizations. Imagine the impact of that in a museum setting: a quick and compelling way to both advertise and educate the public.
AI is not just for engineers. Don’t discount the ability of artists, historians, and non-technical professionals to create extraordinary things with these tools. While AI doesn’t generate truly “new” ideas (it recombines what’s already there), humans do. The magic comes from the partnership.
Human + AI = ?
That’s the equation we’re all still solving—but the results are already powerful.