LEDx: Praxeum opening keynote speaker Dr. Yolanda Levell-Williams, D.M., Chief Academic Officer/Provost of Air University at Maxwell AFB, Alabama.
(U.S. Air Force photo by 42nd ABW)

The Air University Innovation Accelerator, in collaboration with the Global College of Professional Military Education and the Air Force Institute of Technology, hosted LEDx: Praxeum in Montgomery, Alabama, April 23-24, 2025. 

The artificial intelligence and education innovation  event was designed around the principle of active innovation, blending keynote addresses, panel discussions, hands-on workshops, and industry exhibits to cultivate a dynamic learning environment. Hosted at the newly modernized Eagle Institute in downtown Montgomery, the event symbolized the city’s growing commitment to building a national center of excellence for AI research, education, and application.

Participants included senior DoD leaders, Professional Military Education (PME) faculty, AI researchers, private-sector technology developers, civic leaders, and students. Sessions focused on operationalizing AI for PME transformation, building AI literacy, cultivating strategic leadership for AI-empowered environments, and managing the emerging ethical and technical challenges associated with Gen AI. The unique “Praxeum” theme, inspired by Jedi training academies in the Star Wars movies, was aimed to foster both philosophical discussion and actionable innovation.

“This group of people was brought together to discuss how we are utilizing AI in military education and civilian education, and to find out what we could learn from each other. It was a great mix of military people, civilians from local academic institutions, as well as industry people, all seeing how we can use it to advance our mission,” said Dr. Wendy Walsh, Air Education and Training Command chief learning officer and keynote speaker.

AFIT served as a co-sponsor and academic supporter of the event, which offered a valuable platform for AFIT to reinforce its leadership in AI-enabled education, forge new collaboration pathways, and contribute meaningfully to shaping the future of PME. 

AFIT’s Maj. Mark Bateman, assistant professor of systems engineering and systems engineering program chair, and Dr. Jonathan Zemmer, educational technology liaison, contributed to the event by shaping academic programming content and presenting the “AFIT Gen AI Teaching Guidebook,” a practical framework for the responsible integration of Generative AI tools into PME curricula. In addition, Maj. Bateman served as Praxeum’s AI in PME Writing Contest organizer. 

“The Praxeum event and AI in PME Essay Writing Contest were very successful and the AFIT team was proud to help make that happen by providing technical expertise and planning support,” said Maj. Bateman, who collaborated with the AUIX and GCPME teams throughout the entire planning phase of the event. AFIT secured guest speakers and panelists for the event, while faculty members volunteered to serve as judges for the writing contest.

“This year in particular, it was a pleasure to partner with AFIT and the Global College of Professional Military Education,” said DeVanté Snell, AUiX chief of events and public outreach. “To have those leaders and professors involved with the same topic and the same mission was amazing. They played a huge role in empowering the Airmen, which for us as AUiX, is critical to completing our mission, which is really to empower the warfighters.”

LEDx: Praxeum 2025 AI in PME Essay Writing Contest

The AI in PME writing contest was incredibly successful in terms of engagement from across the DAF and the abundance of innovative yet practical ideas shared in the essays. The submissions that received the highest scores from judges focused on the concept of human-machine teaming to leverage the strengths each side can bring to the fight. The more successful essays also included actionable suggestions for future ethical and responsible AI implementation.

After the completion of the writing contest, all essays were published in Wild Blue Yonder, Air University’s peer-reviewed online journal and forum focused on military-related thought and dialogue.  

The success of the contest demonstrates how airmen and guardians, who are currently in both educational and operational environments, are thinking critically about this emergent disruptive technology especially in the context of their military education.  

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This article contains information provided by the 42nd Air Base Wing Public Affairs.