This is basically how government insiders grade how happy they are with a contractor. They can score it from one to five – exceptional, very good, satisfactory, marginal, and unsatisfactory. And those grades impact what happens to that contract going forward. They’re the kind of thing that decides who gets contracts and who doesn’t. ROB: But that’s real “inside government” stuff, right? It’s specialized knowledge the rest of us just don’t have? JON: Yeah, you really have to be inside the system and see it for yourself. But it has a huge impact. Like I said, there are going to be winners and losers from all this. Some firms are going to find themselves out in the cold like Deloitte just did. Others are going to win big. ROB: We’re already starting to see that in the defense industry, right? JON:
They’re all early winners of what we’re talking about. They’re effectively all helping the Department of Defense roll out artificial intelligence. They’re a sign of what’s coming, not just in defense but across government. So, in February, I was in a room full of four-star generals – a big meeting of defense contractors and government agencies. The feeling I got was that people are excited by what’s happening. There’s a definite sense that technology is the key to the future. JOEL: Do you think Elon is speeding things up? He works with a maniacal sense of urgency... Are you seeing that? JON: Without a doubt. The phrase I keep hearing is to “speed up the cycle.” That means issuing contracts faster. Failing faster. Learning faster. That’s a much more private-sector approach. People don’t want to spend years on a project that could take months or weeks. They want to move quickly. I mean, these are people who’ve fought on the battlefield. They’re used to making fast decisions. They’re used to taking calculated risks. ROB: I can see why Elon’s way of doing things excites them.
Absolutely. You mentioned three companies earlier – Palantir, BigBear.ai, and Airship AI.
REVIEW BY JULY 18
PAGE 14 // DOGE: PHASE II
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