West Point’s Integration of AI in Education and Warfare

By Kevin R. Grazier, Ph.D., Guest Writer

“Artificial intelligence is better than none.” This old joke reflects a bygone era in the development of artificial intelligence (AI). Baked into the gag is the implication that the technology was flawed and of limited value. Today, however, AI commands significantly greater respect, as evidenced by the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physics, awarded to John J. Hopfield and Geoffrey E. Hinton for their groundbreaking advancements in artificial neural networks.

People now routinely rely on personal assistants like Alexa and Siri to select their next Netflix binge based on AI-driven viewing analyses and to manage their homes with smart devices. Another place where the use of AI has really taken off is on the battlefields of Ukraine and the Middle East. There, the use of AI is increasing and evolving daily, driven by necessity. Soon, AI will be woven into every aspect of military operations, shaping the environment in which future Army officers will be expected to thrive. Consequently, West Point has adopted a proactive approach to AI, educating and training cadets to navigate the ubiquity of AI tools, understand their function and capabilities, and recognize this technology’s limitations, potential pitfalls, and ethical considerations.

Throughout history, militaries have paired human capabilities with various tools and technologies to accomplish their missions, and the introduction of AI on the battlefield simply represents the latest evolution of this trend. The future of warfare is evolving, with victories depending less on machines with the toughest armor, highest firing rates, or largest explosives and more on those that can think the fastest, guided by skilled humans who know how to effectively leverage their capabilities. This reality is reflected in West Point’s intellectual theme for the 2024-25 academic year: “The Human and the Machine: Leadership on the Emerging Battlefield.” Designed to probe the evolving relationship between human agency coupled with the capabilities of advanced technology in modern warfare, this theme makes it clear that if cadets are expected to fight and win America’s future wars, they must be prepared to do so in an environment where they partner with “thinking” machines.

To stay competitive with our adversaries, our Army needs graduates equipped with the specialized skills required to develop and utilize AI systems and applications effectively. The Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) and many other organizations at West Point are poised to be the tip of the spear in AI instruction. Colonel James Raftery, EECS Department Head, says, “Within the EECS department, we have the academic majors (Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, and Cyber Science) that really are the fundamental underpinnings of who can build the black boxes of AI systems.” Colonel Christa Chewar ’95 adds that teaching AI in EECS has a lengthy history, “Even in the ’90s, when I was a cadet, and when I first joined the faculty in 2004, [the department] already had a long history of research and teaching courses focused on AI.” Raftery adds, “Never put an American soldier in a fair fight—if this gives us an advantage, then we want cadets to become familiar with, expert users of, and developers of AI tools.”

In addition to AI-specific courses, EECS majors will find AI interwoven throughout their major’s courses, which address, in ways relevant to the course being taught, proper methods of using AI-based applications, best practices, and the strengths and weaknesses of AI. EECS cadets also enjoy the benefit of receiving instruction from a number of faculty members who are accomplished researchers of both general AI and Army-specific applications of AI. Therefore, in addition to academic exposure to the discipline, cadets and faculty have the opportunity to be involved in cutting-edge research in the field. Cadet involvement in AI-focused research projects may take the form of independent study courses or senior capstone projects.

EECS operates several research centers that support this effort, each with a number of active AI projects and initiatives. The Robotics Research Center (RRC) is dedicated to driving innovation in military applications of robotics and autonomous systems. It also emphasizes training future leaders in robotics technology, its applications in both combat and support roles, and the challenges of modern warfare employing robotic systems. The RRC has active projects in AI on topics like developing camouflage to counter adversarial computer vision-based systems, navigation in GPS-denied environments, developing target recognition algorithms, and landmine detection.

The Cyber Research Center (CRC) at West Point is focused on advancing research and education in the field of cybersecurity and cyber operations. The CRC conducts research on different dimensions of cyber warfare, providing future Army leaders with the knowledge and skills to defeat cyber threats. AI-based research projects include the development of smart power grids, developing machine learning algorithms for malware analysis and image classification, and developing AI tools to refine how we view dieting, nutrition, and performance.

Another EECS research organization is the Army Cyber Institute (ACI), the Army’s think tank dedicated to addressing challenges in cyber warfare and cybersecurity. Its mission is to develop policies, technologies, and strategies to improve and enhance the Army’s capabilities within the cyber domain. As with the other EECS research centers, ACI has a number of active AI-related research projects. Example projects include improving the speed at which cybersecurity professionals can meet threats, analyzing media broadcasts for bias and potential disinformation, and developing machine learning algorithms for quantum computers.

Alongside AI-related majors and research opportunities, the core curriculum is one of the greatest strengths of a West Point education. West Point will continue to develop the best methods for facilitating a cadet’s experience with AI across the entire curriculum. For all graduates, AI systems will be as integral to their careers as they are for those who design and program them. “AI is a type of tool or a family of tools that are going to be available to cadets, to lieutenants, and to officers, to help them be more productive in their job,” Raftery says. “It can help them do things faster and with fewer errors, and it can help them think of things that they would not have thought of without the prompt.” Raftery views AI as a critical productivity tool, and those who don’t know how to use productivity tools will have far less impact than those who are proficient with them. Dr. Edward Sobiesk, Professor of Computer and Cyber Science, says, “We have an imperative to give [cadets] the best chance of succeeding at their mission in the environment that they’re going to face in the next five to 15 years, one in which AI is ubiquitous throughout competition and conflict.”

When it comes to non-EECS majors, the CY105 and CY305 courses introduce these cadets to using AI technologies. CY105 is a computer fundamentals class required for all cadets, typically taken during their plebe year. Lessons within the course allow cadets to explore the strengths and weaknesses of AI while also covering the social, ethical, and military ramifications of the technology. Second Class cadets not majoring in engineering or computer science take CY305, a cyber foundations class where students learn the fundamentals of implementing AI and machine learning systems.

One example of how these and other STEM courses are being modernized to educate a new generation of AI-savvy cadets occurred in the spring of 2024 when EECS updated CY105. The class traditionally included a final summative project that allowed cadets to showcase their programming skills. CY105 instructors believed that all cadets, not just those majoring in computer science, should develop the ability to collaborate with AI tools and systems to achieve shared objectives effectively, so they reimagined the final project. In this new, modernized version of the class, the summative project does not necessarily require programming, but it does require cadets to team with generative AI tools to create something original, something different, something they are excited about—recommendations ranged from software to hardware to novel websites to artwork. The goal is for cadets to complete the project by effectively applying the problem-solving skills they have learned throughout the semester in the context of generative AI. “They were required to create something that the AI alone could not create by itself and that they alone could not create by themselves—to really seek synergy with AI,” says Sobiesk. “The AI summative project gave them a chance to truly unleash their creativity.”

The instructors also thought that the AI summative project could be updated regularly to reflect the rapid evolution of AI and its impact on cadets, their education, and their careers. Dr. Suzanne Matthews, Professor of Computer Science and the CY105 course director, feels that, in the future, the summative project can be revised to ask students to reflect on relevant ethical issues of AI.

Matthews raises an important point: A West Point education would not be a West Point education were it not steeped in ethics and character development. The widespread deployment of artificial intelligence, potentially autonomous weapons systems, drones, and other advanced technologies on the modern battlefield will confront future officers with numerous uncharted ethical and legal challenges, where sound judgment will be essential. EECS courses teach responsible and ethical ways in which AI tools can be employed to improve learning and assist with completing assignments.

Cadets also confront ethical challenges head-on. The Robotics Research Center supports lessons as part of a lab in PY201, a philosophy core course taken by all cadets that explores ethical aspects of lethal autonomous weapon systems that use AI to make targeting decisions. West Point is taking advantage of every avenue to prepare cadets to be effective decision-makers in environments where new technologies rule the day, all while adhering to their ethical and legal obligations.

A related ethical aspect of creating AI systems is that human developers need to take responsibility for the beliefs and principles the AI systems they produce have. Matthews offers, “One thing that I am proud of at West Point is that we do spend quite a bit of time on character development and ethics and, because of that, I’d like to think that our cadets, if they are ever involved in creating AI systems, will reflect on their own values and not make some of the mistakes that we’ve been seeing some of the profit-oriented organizations make.”

Photo 2: CY105 cadets working on robot autonomous navigation. Photo 3: CY105 students being introduced to robots that feature a variety of autonomous controls. Examples of CY105 AI-based summative projects. Photo 4: CDT Colin McDevitt ’27 had generative AI compose posters of famous baseball players (here: Lou Gehrig) projected onto images of the cities where they played. Photo 5: CDT Grant Lee ’25 used AI to compose, and play, half of a cello duet (Lee played the other half). Photo 6: CDT Benjamin Morrow ’27 used AI to program a rat-hunting robot.

What do you think? Click here to complete a short survey.