Original Broadcast Date: 08/30/2026
Sponsored by CACI
Lt. Gen. James Adams, Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, calls that effort DIA Next. During an interview with Fed Gov Today at DoDIIS 2026, Adams explains that the agency is at an important point where advances in technology are converging with the people who can put those capabilities to work.
Adams says DIA Next is designed to help the agency understand what it needs to do to take advantage of that opportunity and prepare for what comes next.
The strategy centers on three areas, beginning with DIA's workforce.
Adams calls people the most valuable "weapon system" in the agency. Modernizing that workforce includes upskilling current employees so they can take advantage of emerging technologies while also recruiting people with skills DIA does not currently have in sufficient numbers.
Technical and STEM expertise is a particular focus. Adams says DIA wants to recruit people who can combine their skills with their motivation and patriotism to contribute to the agency's mission.
Once DIA builds that workforce, the second pillar is making sure employees have the right tools.
Adams says events like DoDIIS provide an opportunity to introduce the workforce to technologies and the people building them. Giving employees access to those capabilities can encourage innovation and allow them to consider new ways to apply technology to their work.
The third pillar brings those first two pieces together: creating highly synchronized, efficient and warfighter-focused integration.
For Adams, that integration begins with understanding the warfighter.
DIA needs to know what warfighters require and make sure the agency is fulfilling those needs. But integration also extends across the broader intelligence enterprise. Different intelligence agencies bring different tools and capabilities, and Adams says weaving them together can create a more comprehensive and accurate understanding.
Technology is changing how that integration happens.
Adams says intelligence organizations have integrated in the past, but the process has often been highly manual. He points to "swivel chair operations," where information sits in separate silos and people manually move between systems.
New technologies and network capabilities offer an opportunity to integrate that information digitally and automatically. That becomes especially important as DIA looks to incorporate artificial intelligence and other next-generation capabilities.
Adams says digital integration is necessary to take full advantage of those technologies.
AI itself, however, does not replace the analyst in Adams' vision for DIA.
The agency has access to more data than ever, and Adams says AI can help employees work with that information. He describes the technology as a tool that empowers analysts rather than substitutes for them.
In his view, AI is not designed to replace the analytical brainpower of DIA's workforce. Instead, it becomes another capability analysts can use to perform their missions.
That shift also changes the skills DIA needs.
Analysts need to understand new technologies and know how to use them effectively. At the same time, Adams says DIA needs additional data analysts, data scientists and technical employees who can enhance tools, implement them and put them onto agency networks.
Some existing analysts may move into those kinds of roles, while other specialists will need to be recruited.
Industry can also help fill the expertise gap.
Adams says DIA does not want to replicate the technological expertise already available in the private sector. Instead, the agency wants to leverage it. He points to internships, externships and other arrangements that could allow industry experts to temporarily bring their knowledge and technology into government workflows.
That approach could also align with changing workforce expectations. Adams says younger workers may be less interested in joining one organization and remaining there for an entire career. DIA can instead provide opportunities for people to move in and out of government, contribute their expertise, accomplish a mission and then pursue something different.
DIA is putting specific milestones behind the broader vision.
Adams says the agency has developed a workforce modernization plan that it recently briefs to the Under Secretary of Intelligence and Security. The plan establishes goals over the next two months, six months and six years, organized around three lines of effort.
Those milestones give DIA a roadmap for tracking its progress and adjusting the plan as the agency moves forward.
For Adams, DIA Next ultimately connects workforce modernization, technology and integration. By developing its people, providing them with better tools and digitally connecting capabilities across the intelligence enterprise, DIA is working to position its workforce to take advantage of the technologies shaping the future of defense intelligence.