Air Force Academy cadets will be expected to master artificial intelligence but not before they learn to think for themselves. 

The academy’s new dean, Brig. Gen. James Valpiani, outlined his vision for incorporating AI into the classroom as it becomes a war-fighting tool for the Air Force Academy Board of Visitors during a meeting Monday. The board advises the Department of Defense on changes that should be made at the academy and includes lawmakers who work on defense legislation.

He anticipates using a tiered approach that starts with nearly no AI and ensures the students are demonstrating their skills through tests that are proctored or implemented verbally. 

There is a great deal of variation among cadets about how much AI was used during their high school education, he said. In some cases, it was not used at all and it others it was overused. 

“There’s a number of preparedness gaps that are related to the overuse or the misuse of artificial intelligence,” he told the board. 

So Valpiani wants to ensure that cadets have a baseline of critical thinking skills before they start integrating AI tools. 

He envisions that AI could be used as a tutor, critic, simulator and collaborator when it is incorporated into academics, according to his presentation. At the highest level, it could be incorporated into senior capstones. 

“AI should be used in such a way to sharpen cadets’ thinking and prepare them for the conditions of modern war,” he said.

The U.S. military is already using AI in many systems such as Maven, a system that helps parse vast amounts of intelligence and surveillance, among other tasks, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies. 

Ukraine has already adopted AI systems on drones to complete target recognition and navigation. AI navigation helps ensure that GPS jamming does not interfere with a drone’s trajectory. 

As warfare becomes increasingly technical, professors and academy advocates expressed concern last year about cuts to instructors and faculty members with doctoral degrees. 

An Air Force Academy climate survey done in October and shared with The Gazette in January showed that the number of people serving under the dean of faculty in all roles fell by more than 100 positions. In addition to faculty members, the number included contractors, research technicians and those in various support roles. It was not a perfect estimate of the number of departures. 

The survey also found employees reported chronic work overload perpetuated by personnel reductions. 

During the meeting, Rep. Jeff Crank, R-Colorado Springs, announced the Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink agreed to reinstate 26 civilian faculty positions.

Crank and Sen. John Hickenlooper advocated for $10 million in stopgap funding for faculty earlier this year to avoid what they characterized as cuts that could disrupt cadet learning by increasing class sizes and shrinking course offerings. 

The Board of Visitors also recommended in January that the Air Force audit the faculty’s composition to rightsize the staff.