AI in National Security: Integrating Artificial Intelligence into Public Sector Missions

AI in National Security: Integrating Artificial Intelligence into Public Sector Missions

Instructor: SCSP Instructors

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4 modules

Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.

144 reviews

Beginner level

No prior experience required

5 hours to complete

Flexible schedule

Learn at your own pace

4 modules

Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.

144 reviews

Beginner level

No prior experience required

5 hours to complete

Flexible schedule

Learn at your own pace

What you'll learn

Understand the national security imperative of being AI-ready and how AI is irreversibly being integrated into national security missions.
Explore how tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, and Copilot can be applied to tasks related to national security missions and their appropriate use.
Learn how to improve individual workflow in a national security context by leveraging AI tools specific to your role.
Learn how to advocate for AI adoption at your agency regardless of your role or seniority level.

Skills you'll gain

Tools you'll learn

Details to know

Assessments

4 assignments

Taught in English

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There are 4 modules in this course

The Special Competitive Studies Project (SCSP), in partnership with Coursera, created this custom course to upskill national security professionals in AI. SCSP is the premier voice in the national security space, driving recommendations and conversations about the crucial role that emerging technologies, especially artificial intelligence, play in the national security and competitiveness space that defines our world today.

This course will provide hands-on, use-case driven upskilling in AI for mid-career national security practitioners. While many AI educational offerings are available for senior leaders, or as basic fundamental skills for everyone, there are no publicly available, free, and asynchronous courses targeting national security practitioners with real-world tactical applications. Each module is designed to address different dimensions of learning how to use AI to be more effective and efficient for national security missions and why being AI-ready is so important. Our lessons feature a range of senior leaders in national security who both demo these tools and explain their importance in operations today. The course includes hands-on training with screencast examples and prepared worksheet exercises to help learners experiment with these tools on actual use cases across various career fields including operations, human resources, acquisition, policy, and financial management. The United States will not maintain global dominance unless we make bureaucracy go faster and leverage AI tools at scale for operational advantage. This course will advance learners’ ability to leverage AI tools today for their mission and to become a change agent in their organization to drive AI adoption at scale. For learners looking to receive a certificate for this course, request access to the AI + AGI in National Security microcredential edition of the course here: https://airtable.com/appmgbDtlkZkWy3p1/pag3ivkB3ObKQoFde/form

The United States will not maintain global dominance unless we make bureaucracy go faster and leverage AI tools at scale for operational advantage. This module explains the imperative for all national security professionals to become AI-ready and what AI megatrends will impact mission sets in the near term.

What's included

6 videos3 readings

6 videos Total 48 minutes

Bringing AI to National Security 5 minutes
The Imperative of AI in National Security 14 minutes
The Stakes of Falling Behind 7 minutes
Using AI in Open Source Intelligence Operations 7 minutes
Case Study: Project Maven 9 minutes
The Future of AI in National Security 6 minutes

3 readings Total 35 minutes

AI in National Security, Real Use Cases 15 minutes
AI Governance in National Security 10 minutes
Additional Resources 10 minutes

This module provides a clear definition of AI before working through four common GenAI tools with demonstrations specific to national security missions. It then reviews examples of agency-specific AI tools and the benefits for practitioners to leverage their organization's internal data. It also provides downloadable resources on best practices.

What's included

1 video4 readings

This module is about leveraging AI tools to advance your individual productivity. A screencast demo walks through an example common for the intelligence community before providing downloadable resources to compare model outputs and determine which model to use for a given task. A second lesson provides hands-on training through do-it-yourself exercises in worksheets specific to different career fields including operations, acquisition, policy, human resources, research, logistics, analysis, and financial management.

What's included

1 video2 readings2 assignments

This module is about leveraging AI tools to advance organizational goals. Upon completion, you will be able to answer the following questions: (1) Why aren’t AI tools already adopted at scale in my organization? and (2) how can I be a change agent for my organization by designing and implementing an AI Playbook regardless of my role or where I sit?