FORT LEAVENWORTH, Kan. — Two leaders in the field of data literacy shared their insights on how the Army can tackle thorny problems surrounding the use of data and artificial intelligence in a presentation to Combined Arms Center Soldiers and Army Civilian Professionals, Dec. 11, 2023, at Fort Leavenworth, Kan.
Jordan Morrow, founder and chief executive officer of Bodhi Data, and Col. Nicholas Clark, associate professor, Department of Mathematical Sciences at West Point, took the stage at the Lewis and Clark Center to break down the topic of data literacy, provide a snapshot of where the Army stands in data literacy education, and deliver a way ahead for those organizations willing to, as Clark stated, “ruthlessly assess and continuously improve.”
In his opening remarks, CAC Commanding General Lt. Gen. Milford H. Beagle, Jr., explained why this leader professional development session was important for all employees regardless of grade, rank, or position.
“We have to get our arms around it [data],” he said. “We can’t be pulled by the nose about what’s already around us and what we’re going to deal with every single day. It’s not going to replace the humans. We have humans in the loop, humans on the loop, we just don’t want to have humans out of the loop.”
Beagle also emphasized his role in moving this initiative forward. “The person that probably knows the least about data and analytics? You’re looking at him up here. But the goal is always to learn and get better. How can I make better decisions if I don’t understand the data that’s coming to me, and I don’t know what to ask of the data?” he said.
The software company Qlik defines data literacy as the ability to read, work with, analyze and communicate with data. According to Morrow, the ability to read data is the most important skill, because if people cannot read data, they cannot perform any of the other three tasks.
Often referred to as the “godfather of data literacy,” Morrow travels around the world helping companies and organizations build and understand data literacy, while also writing extensively on the subject. He explained that it is easy to get overwhelmed by the sheer amount of data in today’s evolving landscape (more than 180 zettabytes according to his presentation); however, the total amount of data is not the issue. “What really matters is not the 180 zettabytes of data,” he said. “What really matters is do you have the right data, at the right time, for the right objective, with the right data literacy? That’s what matters,” he said.
Organizations must look at data literacy from a holistic perspective and invest resources accordingly. Technology alone is not the answer. Tools and technologies can and will make tasks easier, but it is then data- and AI-literate people who are empowered to do more “deep work” with the data they have – creative work, critical thinking, etc.
“There is no easy button to this,” Morrow continued. “I wish there was. There is no easy solution to data and analytical work.”
Data work should solve problems, and an organization’s data strategy should be to use data to meet its goals and objectives, said Morrow. “Data is just data. It just sits there. It needs something to bring it to life,” he said.
The way data comes to life is through four levels of analytics (descriptive, diagnostic, predictive and prescriptive), and those analytics should produce insights that drive decisions.
Morrow used an analogy of going to the doctor to explain descriptive analytics. If a doctor tells the patient that they are sick and leaves the room, that is descriptive – accurate, but not particularly useful. This is where most organizations are stuck in their analytical journey, he said. Continuing with the analogy, he said if the doctor explains “why” the patient is sick, that moves into the diagnostic level of analytics and potentially more helpful information for the patient. “The essence of data literacy is these first two levels of analytics,” he said.
During his presentation, Clark expanded on Morrow’s points and shared what successful organizations are doing in the data literacy space. Organizations like the U.S. Military Academy, the 513th Military Intelligence Brigade, and the Signal Center of Excellence are all investing in data literacy education, partnering with academia and/or between professional military education and operational force units, and empowering employees to solve real-world problems.
Like Morrow, he also has four “rights”: Successful organizations have the right people, working on the right problems, with the right data governance and using the right equipment.
“Ultimately, when I think about organizational data literacy, for everybody in the audience and those folks listening at home, this is on you. This is a leader issue,” said Clark. “… We’re going to give you tools that you can use to be successful, but this is a leader issue to get this implemented inside of your organization.”
Clark said organizations should be spending more time on data governance and assessment. Data governance being, What data does an organization have? What does an organization want to do with its data? and What is preventing the organization from doing so? Bottom line, leaders need to develop a framework for how they want data used and that framework should be codified in policy.
Assessments, according to Clark, are often a Sisyphean task. An assessment (boulder) goes through the process (up the hill) and then nothing is done with the data (the boulder rolls back down the hill).
“Assessments are better done as a continuous improvement cycle,” said Clark. Collected and analyzed date should move the needle in some way. “A continuous improvement cycle is a failure if there are no changes to your organization.”
Driving change in data literacy will require more than just training. Clark noted that leaders must consider data literacy across the doctrine, organization, training, materiel, leadership and education, personnel, facilities – policy spectrum.
“We’re moving forward, we’ve taken some great strides, there’s some wonderful work that’s being done,” he said. “… We’ve still got a long ways to go.’”
As a follow-on to the Lewis and Clark presentation, the Army University staff and faculty hosted one of three CAC working groups to help determine how to build the road on “long ways to go.”
Data literacy competencies, while already in place at several units across the Army, may be more common practice without the official label.
Discussed at length during the working group were the skills associated with data literacy that may already be taught or incorporated in education, and potential ways of adjusting to be more data literacy centric.
Clark and Morrow agreed a thorough assessment of these kinds of second-order skills essential to data literacy is needed to better create a way ahead for full adoption and implementation of the topic through Army education.
By identifying potential learning gaps (or established data/AI literacy-like content), workshops and creating content for learners and different learning paths, data and AI literacy could have opportunities to be a more prominent piece of the Army profession.
Morrow's vision for the Army when thinking about the use of data literacy within the force revolves around three E’s.
“Empowering tomorrow’s Army includes elevating, educating and enabling a data-driven and AI savvy Army,” he said.
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