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In February 2019, the President of the United States signed Executive Order 13859 announcing the American AI Initiative—the nation’s strategy on Artificial Intelligence. He wrote, “Continued American leadership in Artificial Intelligence is of paramount importance to maintaining the economic and national security of the United States.”

The Department of the Air Force (DAF) subsequently signed a cooperative agreement with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to jointly create an Artificial Intelligence Accelerator hosted at MIT. The effort, known as the DAF-MIT AI Accelerator, leverages the combined expertise and resources of MIT and the Department of the Air Force. The AI Accelerator conducts fundamental research to enable rapid prototyping, scaling, and the ethical application of AI algorithms and systems to advance both the Department of the Air Force and society in general.  A multidisciplinary team of embedded officers and enlisted Airmen join MIT faculty, researchers, and students to tackle some of the most difficult challenges facing our nation and the Department of the Air Force, ranging from the technical to the humanitarian.

The AI Accelerator subsequently launched ten interdisciplinary projects, involving researchers from MIT Campus, MIT Lincoln Laboratory, and the Department of the Air Force. The three-year projects, which comprised a total of 15 research workstreams, have accelerated the technology transfer from cutting-edge researchers to DAF operations, DoD, and society at large.

The number of projects has since grown to over 20, encompassing advanced AI research in a broad range of areas, including autonomy for augmenting and amplifying human decision-making.

In 2024, the DAF and MIT renewed their cooperative agreement, extending the successful and impactful AI Accelerator for another five years. The AI Accelerator, which has been advancing fundamental research in AI and focusing on hard problems, has brought operationally relevant solutions and expertise to DAF operations by enabling rapid prototyping, scaling, and application of AI algorithms and systems.

This unique and historic collaboration embraces a robust and ongoing dialogue with America’s leading academics and technologists to help guide the future of AI  to ensure the competitive advantage of the United States in the defense and civilian sectors, reflecting our nation’s values.