MADI - Modular AI for Design and Innovation

Overview

Development stage

In development or acquisitionSource: a) Pre-deployment – The use case is in a development or acquisition status.

High-impact designation

Not high-impactSource: c) Not high-impact

Impact justification

Not reported

Start date

Not reported

Withheld from public reporting

NoSource: a) No

Mission

Topic area

Science

Operational functions

Document processing and extraction, Chatbot or virtual assistant Derived by keyword rules; see methodology

Problem the AI is intended to solve

MADI (Modular AI for Design and Innovation) is a decentralized, open-source AI platform that identifies unexplored research "whitespace" between scientific disciplines through secure plugin architecture and interactive visualization. Unlike traditional chatbots, MADI enables collaborative human-AI partnerships where researchers can access proprietary data through authenticated plugins while maintaining security protocols, visualize knowledge relationships through 3D network graphs, and discover cross-disciplinary innovation opportunities that conventional approaches might miss. The platform demonstrates substantial efficiency gains, including 50% reduction in brainstorming time and 1,200 FTE hours saved annually, while operating cost-effectively at $500-600 per month. Currently transitioning from NASA-internal tool to Apache 2.0 open-source release, MADI represents an attempt at "democratic cognitive symbiosis" designed to prevent AI power concentration while advancing scientific discovery through transparent, community-driven development that serves public benefit for all.

Expected benefits

Improved innovation and design methods demonstrating 50% reduction in brainstorming session duration, saving approximately 1,200 FTE hours annually for ten-person teams. Cost-effective operations at $500-600/month with $0.05 per conversation variable costs. Accelerates cross-disciplinary research discovery by identifying unexplored "whitespace" between scientific domains. Enables secure collaboration across NASA centers without duplicating AI infrastructure investments.

System outputs

Research gap identification reports, cross-disciplinary connection recommendations, interactive 3D knowledge graph visualizations, whitespace analysis summaries, technology combination suggestions, collaborative workspace insights, thought process transparency dashboards with dependency diagrams, plugin-mediated data synthesis, automated document classification (security levels), innovation opportunity assessments, and audit trails for compliance tracking.

Technology

AI classification

Natural language processingSource: Natural Language Processing: AI that processes, interprets, and shares information in human language.

System name(s)

Not reported

Custom-developed code

Not reported

Public source code

Not reported

Sourcing

How it was built

Not reported

Vendor (as reported)

Not reported

Vendors (standardized)

None on the standard list

A vendor is the supplier named by the agency. It does not identify the underlying model or AI technology.

Data and privacy

Involves PII

Not reported

Privacy Impact Assessment

Not reported

Authorization to Operate

Not reported

Demographic features

Not reported

Training and evaluation data

Not reported

Federal Data Catalog

Not reported

Governance

0 of 8 minimum-practice questions answered. A blank answer means the agency reported nothing; it does not mean the practice is absent.

Potential impacts and how they were identified

Not reported