DARPA Project to Create AI-Enabled Cultural Interpreters to Aid Defense Operations Our Bureau 1216 The U.S. Defense Advanced Research and Projects Agency (DARPA) is working on Artificial Intelligence (AI)-enabled interpreters to aid in military operations. Communicative understanding, not simply of local languages but also of social customs and cultural backgrounds, lies at the heart of Civil Affairs and Military Information Support Operations activities. These collectively comprise a vast majority of U.S. counterinsurgency and stabilization efforts. Within these activities, cross-cultural miscommunication can derail negotiations, incite hostile discourse – even lead to war. The likelihood of communicative failure increases dramatically where significant social, cultural, or ideological differences exist.