Spring AI and Military Education Innovation Essay Contest
Sponsored by: The Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) and The Muir S. Fairchild Research Information Center (MSFRIC)/Academic Services
Background
The competition is open to all Department of the Air Force personnel as well as current students of Air Force PME programs (US DoD personnel and international military personnel). Both uniformed and civilian personnel of the USAF and USSF are encouraged to participate. Essays may be Air University academic work. The contest invites participants to engage the challenges and opportunities of AI across the areas of ethics and strategy, future applications, and learning (in both technical training and PME). The competition opens on 10 February 2025. Submissions are due by midnight on 9 April 2025.
Winning articles will be announced on 23 April 2025 at LEDx: Praxeum – AI in Education (AIEd) and published in the Air University online journal Wild Blue Yonder thereafter.
Prompt
In the age of AI, both PME and technical training face challenges and opportunities. Write an essay on how the Air Force can effectively provide guidance, policy, or practice structures to equip, support, and/or implement AI for the AF warfighter. Respond within one of these three areas of consideration (listed below).
01
Ethical and Strategic Considerations
Ethical and Governance
- How might integrating AI tools into Air Force PME change ethical and governance frameworks, especially when dealing with sensitive or classified information?
- Where do we draw the line between AI assistance and the need for human judgment in developing future military leaders?
Bias and Fairness
- What biases could AI inadvertently introduce into educational content and assessments, and how can we mitigate or correct them?
- Does reliance on AI in PME risk homogenizing thought or stifling creative leadership?
02
Future Outlook and Applications
Adaptive Wargaming and Scenario Planning
- How could AI transform wargaming exercises, scenario building, and crisis simulations in Air Force PME?
- What new types of training or exercises could be pioneered using AI that aren’t currently feasible?
Long-Term Vision
- Looking ahead 10–15 years, what role do you foresee AI playing in the professional development of Air Force personnel, and how can PME institutions prepare now?
- What might the competitive advantages (or disadvantages) be for the U.S. Air Force if it fully embraces AI in PME compared to near-peer adversaries?
03
Future Outlook and Applications
Innovative Learning Approaches
- How can AI-driven simulations, automated feedback systems, or virtual instructors reshape Air Force PME, and what specific competencies could these tools enhance?
- In what ways can AI personalize instruction to accommodate different learning styles while maintaining rigorous military standards?
Balancing Technology and Tradition
- How should educators balance the benefits of AI-enabled learning with the traditional, human-centric approaches that define much of military leadership training?
- What might be lost, if anything, when we replace conventional teaching methods with AI-driven tools?
The Prize
Winner will be announced at LEDx:Praxeum – AI in Education (AIEd)
23 April 2025 at 1500 at the Historic Kress Building (39 Dexter Ave, Montgomery, AL 36104), published in Wild Blue Yonder
Submission Guidelines
- Essays must be greater than 1500 words and less than 3000 words not including footnotes, headers, title, or author’s bio.
- Your essay should be clearly focused. Establish the focus by providing a thesis in the first paragraph.
- Your essay should be well structured and developed using a logical, orderly progression of writing. For example, a paragraph with a topic sentence, supporting sentences, and ending in a concluding sentence is one model to follow.
- A note on support/citations: authors may refer to themselves in the first person (e.g., “I could not put down the book”), but personal and professional experience are no substitute for external citations.
- Your audience does not necessarily share your opinion, background, and knowledge base; write in a well-reasoned supported manner.
- Finally, prose is important. Clarity, concision, and directness at the sentence level ensure even the most complicated ideas are presented in an accessible way. Avoid jargon.
- Essays must be greater than 1500 words and less than 3000 words not including footnotes, headers, title, or author’s bio.
- Your essay should be clearly focused. Establish the focus by providing a thesis in the first paragraph.
- Your essay should be well structured and developed using a logical, orderly progression of writing. For example, a paragraph with a topic sentence, supporting sentences, and ending in a concluding sentence is one model to follow.
- A note on support/citations: authors may refer to themselves in the first person (e.g., “I could not put down the book”), but personal and professional experience are no substitute for external citations.
- Your audience does not necessarily share your opinion, background, and knowledge base; write in a well-reasoned supported manner.
- Finally, prose is important. Clarity, concision, and directness at the sentence level ensure even the most complicated ideas are presented in an accessible way. Avoid jargon.
Use of AI Tools for essay creation:
Style Matters:
Contestants are permitted to use AI tools to assist with writing the essay. It may be useful to use AI tools to assist with research, rephrasing, citations, and summaries within individual paragraphs. However, using an AI to write the entire essay is not recommended, as AI writing tools generally produce poor papers that do not answer the prompt or meet the requirements in the submission guidelines.
- Please use AP Style for the content of your piece; that is, for matters including abbreviations, capitalization, forms of address etc.
- Your article should use the Chicago Manual of Style for formatting and citations. Begin each new paragraph without indenting the first sentence. Use footnotes only—do not use endnotes. Do not include bibliographies or works cited listings.
- Use one space only between a punctuation mark that ends a sentence and the first word of the next sentence. All punctuation goes within quotation marks in accordance with AP Style.
- Default to standard American English for spelling and punctuation.
- Avoid hyperlink citations.
Submission Details
- Simultaneous submissions are acceptable. AFIT and The Muir S. Fairchild Research Information Center (MSFRIC)/Academic Services wishes to encourage Airmen and Guardians to write.
- We will accept only first-publication articles (previously published articles will not be accepted). Work submitted for academic requirements that is not officially published elsewhere IS acceptable.
- In addition to your Word attachment please include a brief biographical statement (e.g. “Maj Jones is an air mobility pilot and currently a student at ACSC.”). Include your current commander’s name, unit, and email address. Please also provide links to your Twitter handle and your LinkedIn profile, if applicable.
- Authors requiring official review before an article can be published should secure permissions prior to submission.
- If you create any custom images, figures, or tables for your article, please attach separately the highest possible quality of image for our use. Give credit for any images you do not create.
- Submit papers, bios, and commander contact information via the submission tool at below
Key Dates
10 Feb 2025
Submissions Open
9 April 2025
Last Day to Submit
This will be the final day you can submit your essay.
23 April 2025
Winners Announcement
Winning articles will be announced at LEDx: Praxeum – AI in Education (AIEd)
Submit Your Essay
All materials submitted must not be sensitive or classified.
Contacts
Maj Mark Bateman
mark.bateman.3@spaceforce.mi
Mr. Tony Montelepre
tony@auix.org
Patricia Harris
patricia.harris.19@au.af.edu