AI will not replace the judgment of Airmen and Guardians, but those who know how to work with AI may quickly outpace those who do not. This session focuses on upskilling Airmen and Guardians to build an AI fluent workforce through role-based training and mission driven use cases.

The session highlights real world scenarios where tailored AI training enables Airmen and Guardians to solve mission problems faster and with greater precision. Leaders across the Air Force should understand how AI works, where it can improve mission performance, how to use it responsibly, and when human judgment must remain decisive.

This session examines how structured, skills-based learning can help the DAF build AI fluency at scale while tailoring development pathways to different roles, experience levels, and mission requirements. It also outlines concrete upskilling opportunities available to Airmen and Guardians, including foundational AI training, advanced model development tracks, and mission specific AI application pathways. Personnel can begin with foundational instruction in AI, generative AI, data, cybersecurity, cloud computing, and AI ethics before progressing into hands-on learning focused on building models, agents, and automated workflows.

Every position has a role to play and requires unique depth and types of AI training. The session demonstrates how curriculum adapts to operational, cyber, intelligence, acquisition, engineering, and support roles with mission aligned learning objectives. Role-based learning pathways also align curriculum to mission responsibilities, assess current proficiency, recommend the next learning activity, and provide digital credentials that document demonstrated skills. Leaders can track participation and progress while identifying where additional training investments are needed while using these insights to identify skill gaps, prioritize training investments, and accelerate AI adoption across units.

Hands-on environments allow learners to move beyond classroom concepts and apply AI to realistic Air Force challenges. For example, a cyber operator can use AI to triage threats and prioritize response actions, while an intelligence analyst can use foundation models to accelerate data analysis and reporting. Participants can experiment with foundation models, develop effective prompts, compare model outputs, ground responses in trusted mission information, and build agentic workflows for specific tasks. The objective here is to develop Digital Warriors who understand how to work effectively with AI.

Participants will gain:

• A clear understanding of how the DAF can develop AI fluency across operational, cyber, acquisition, intelligence, engineering, and support career fields
• Practical approaches for creating customized learning pathways based on an individual’s role, existing skills, mission responsibilities, and career goals
• An understanding of foundational AI concepts, including Gen AI, ML, foundation models, data preparation, cybersecurity, and responsible AI
• Practical exposure to selecting, testing, tuning and deploying AI models for mission-relevant use cases