Recent Activities - AI Task Force
Lead AI Course
Completed four iterations of the three-day "Leading Data- and AI-Enabled Organizations" course for DoD CDAO
Objective: Education & Community Building
NPS is one of two higher education entities authorized by CDAO to teach this executive course and symposium, taught by NPS' Prof Mathias Kolsch and other NPS faculty. It attracts 40-50 GO/FO/SES attendees per event. Presently, JHU is the other authorized school, having replaced MIT. NPS has been a consistent provider for several years under CDAO auspices. The course is designed to provide comprehensive, executive-level exposure to the technical cornerstones, strategic implications, and governance considerations of AI and ML.
AI Learning Paths
Developed AI learning paths for users, advanced users, developers, and leaders
Objective: Education
These paths cover subjects like Machine Learning, Generative AI, Agentic AI, Digital Twins, and Autonomy. The resources consist of online self-paced short courses from NVIDIA鈥檚 Deep Learning Institute (including commercial certifications), NPS-developed short courses, certificates, and degrees, and facilitated workshops delivered remotely or in-person by NPS and NVIDIA instructors. We expect these resources to be accessible to all of DoN, Navy, and Marine Corps in the next month.
Naval AI Summit
Hosted the Week-Long Naval Artificial Intelligence Summit at NPS
Objective: Education & Community Building
Co-sponsored by NPS and ONR, this gathering facilitates Navy and Marine Corps cross-communication and the sharing of information, insights, and resources to the benefit of Naval AI practitioners and the overall DON-wide enterprise. The over 320 participants (in-person plus online) included the DON CDAO, the AI NIF pillar lead , and other senior leaders and military/government/industry practitioners.
Upskilling Day
Held a Upskilling and Enrichment Day as part of the AI Summit
Objective: Education
Fifty in-person participants attended a course on AI taught by ONR鈥檚 LtCol Jack Long, and 50 other in-person participants attended 鈥淔undamentals of Deep Learning鈥� (how to train a neural network) taught by NPS鈥� NVIDIA AI Tech Center lead, Mr. Nico Lebovitz.
Five-Day AI Hackathon
Completed a five-day AI Hackathon at NPS
Objective: Education & Problem-Solving
A group of mid-career officer students created prototype solutions for AI-related challenges provided by USA DEVCOM and USMC Deputy Commandant for Aviation. The event was kicked off in-person by SES Stuart Wagner, DoN鈥檚 Chief Digital and AI Officer. The participating officers solved real-world problems using the latest techniques, technologies, hardware, gaining experience while 鈥渓earning by doing鈥�. The NPS Computer Science Dept now requires all CS students to compete in at least one hackathon as part of their degree requirements.
AI Workshops
Delivered half-day in-person workshops on the topic of "What is AI and What Can It Do For Me?"
Objective: Education & Problem-Solving
Workshops were delivered to Commander Navy Region Mid-Atlantic鈥檚 leadership team and to NAVIFOR personnel in Norfolk (approx. 300 participants total across four separate workshops). The workshop explains the origins of AI, the different kinds of AI, current and future capabilities, limitations, and risks. This is followed by a class and demo on GenAI prompt engineering showing how these tools can help Naval professionals be more efficient and effective in their day-to-day tasks.
Special Interest Groups
Established the Omniverse Special Interest Group (SIG) and the AI for Teaching and Learning SIG
Objective: Education & Community Building
These SIGs will serve as communities of practice for both NPS and the larger Naval Enterprise. The Teaching and Learning SIG is helping faculty and students understand how to intelligently and ethically leverage GenAI capabilities in training and education contexts. Both groups will enable the NPS community and external stakeholders with information, resources, infrastructure, and community support.
Omniverse Platform Installation
Installed an Omniverse platform previously provided to NPS
Objective: Infrastructure & Problem-Solving
The platform was a $2.5M+ gift from NVIDIA, Dell Federal, Sterling Federal, and the NPS Foundation. Omniverse is NVIDIA鈥檚 development platform for building and operating 3D applications and services in a virtual world. It is designed to facilitate collaboration and simulation for tasks like digital twin creation, complex object visualization and simulation, and AI-powered applications.
AI-Related Degrees at NPS Commencement
Over 50 officers awarded PhDs and Master鈥檚 degrees completed an AI-related dissertation or thesis
Objective: Education & Problem Solving
This occurred on June 18th, at the NPS summer quarter commencement, as part of their Computer Science, Information Systems, Operations Research, Logistics Management, Manpower Management, Defense Analysis, and other degree programs. Theses ranged from new and novel techniques that improve AI technologies and techniques to the application of Large Language Models, Generative AI, AI agents, or autonomous systems control algorithms for military use cases. These officers will return to the Fleet with superior AI knowledge and skills, as well as practical experience working with AI technologies to solve military problems and provide thought leadership for their communities and their Services.