U.S. Air Force procurement of advisory & assistance services for AI and machine learning — a federal contract (USAspending)

When the federal government sets out to adopt and use advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning, its own staff may not have enough specialized knowledge or capacity for the job. One way to address this is through advisory & assistance services (A&AS), a form of procurement in which outside experts provide technical advice and work support to government personnel. A&AS lets the government temporarily supplement, through a contract, expertise it cannot fully maintain in-house. What distinguishes this particular contract is that its subject area is artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML).

This form of procurement matters because it shows that government adoption of AI is not just about buying the technology itself. AI and machine learning involve decisions about which data to use and how, which tasks to apply them to, and how to evaluate the results — decisions that call for specialized judgment. Procuring outside advice and support is a practical option for a government that wants to engage new technology while building on its own capabilities. The specific scope of work and deliverables for this contract are not stated in the source, so rather than speculate about the particulars, this explanation describes the general character of A&AS as a category of service.

Viewed more broadly, this contract can be read as one example of a procurement pattern seen across the federal government, not just in defense: supplementing specialized talent through contracts. As the use of advanced technology grows, demand is likely to rise — alongside purchases of technology products — for the advisory and assistance services that support putting those products to use. A single contract offers a glimpse of how the government seeks to bring in outside expertise.