Decentralized Artificial Intelligence through Controlled Emergence (DICE)

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency within the Information Processing Techniques Office is offering a funding opportunity titled Decentralized Artificial Intelligence through Controlled Emergence under a Broad Agency Announcement mechanism. DARPA is a federal research agency within the U.S. Department of Defense that funds high risk, high reward research to advance national security technologies. This opportunity is positioned as a research solicitation seeking innovative and non incremental advances in artificial intelligence, specifically targeting decentralized multi agent systems capable of operating in complex and contested environments. The announcement explicitly emphasizes transformative approaches rather than incremental improvements to existing technologies. The purpose of the DICE program is to develop new theories, architectures, and algorithms that enable decentralized coordination among heterogeneous AI agents while maintaining control over emergent behaviors. The program seeks to move beyond centralized orchestration models toward scalable, adaptive, and resilient AI collectives capable of executing long horizon missions autonomously. The research scope includes artificial intelligence, control theory, formal methods, and game theory. Proposed solutions must demonstrate the ability to support peer to peer coordination, distributed decision making, and resilience to adversarial conditions, including compromised agents and incomplete information. Funding will be distributed through multiple potential award mechanisms including procurement contracts, cooperative agreements, and other transaction agreements for research or prototype development. Multiple awards are anticipated, and proposers may be required to participate in resource sharing depending on the award structure. The program is structured as a 36 month effort divided into three phases focusing on decentralization, adversarial robustness, and scalability. While specific award amounts are not disclosed, funding is expected to support complex, multi year research efforts with deliverables including algorithms, simulation environments, evaluation platforms, and technical documentation. Eligibility is broad and includes all responsible sources capable of meeting DARPA requirements, including both U.S. and non U.S. entities, subject to compliance with applicable security, export control, and nondisclosure regulations. However, certain government affiliated research entities such as federally funded research and development centers and university affiliated research centers are not eligible to submit proposals directly. The program also imposes cybersecurity requirements, including compliance with the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification, which varies by technical area. The application process involves an optional but strongly encouraged abstract submission phase followed by a full proposal submission. Abstracts must be submitted through the DARPA Broad Agency Announcement Tool and must adhere to strict formatting and content requirements. Full proposals require multiple components including technical and management volumes, cost proposals, summary slides, and supporting documentation such as biographical sketches and disclosures. Evaluation criteria include scientific and technical merit, team qualifications, relevance to DARPA mission objectives, transition potential, and cost realism. The timeline for the opportunity includes a posting date of June 10, 2026, an abstract submission deadline of June 30, 2026, and a final proposal deadline of August 25, 2026. Questions must be submitted by August 18, 2026. The program includes structured milestones, evaluations, and competitive phases throughout its duration. Awards are expected to support ongoing collaboration, reporting, and participation in program meetings and evaluations. DARPA provides a centralized point of contact via email for all inquiries and maintains a program webpage for updates and frequently asked questions. The program encourages open dissemination of research results while retaining government purpose rights in deliverables. Overall, the DICE opportunity represents a significant federal investment in next generation decentralized artificial intelligence systems with applications in defense and complex operational environments.

Focus on highly innovative non incremental approaches demonstrate scalability adaptability and resilience clearly align with DARPA mission and technical areas