The United States Army announced the creation of a new specialization for officers in artificial intelligence and machine learning. This new field, coded 49B, will commence in January.
The initiative aims to develop a corps of experts to expedite the transformation of the armed forces into a “data-centric” structure.
Specialists will work on enhancing operational efficiency across several areas:
- accelerating the decision-making cycle;
- improving intelligence accuracy and targeting;
- optimizing logistics;
- integrating combat robotic systems.
All active officers may apply for the transfer, though preference will be given to candidates with relevant education or experience.
Selected participants will undergo advanced training (equivalent to a master’s level) and gain practical experience with existing AI-based systems. The full retraining is expected to be completed by the end of 2026.
This decision follows the launch of the Pentagon’s AI platform GenAI.mil, based on Google’s Gemini model, in early December. It is designed for the legal and safe use of neural networks in defense tasks.
The creation of GenAI.mil is part of the plan introduced in July by the administration of former US President Donald Trump. The document instructs federal agencies to accelerate the adoption of advanced AI systems.
In 2024, 200 employees of Google’s AI division, DeepMind, expressed dissatisfaction with the tech giant’s involvement in military initiatives.