Source: United States Army
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Massachusetts National Guard Senior Airman Matthew Wright recently completed a five-month fellowship at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology through a military collaboration between the Department of the Air Force Artificial Intelligence Accelerator and the private research university.
The fellowship aims to promote the ethical use of artificial intelligence, or AI, while building a sustainable, end-to-end AI pipeline to help maintain U.S. competitiveness in defense and civilian sectors. The program provides exposure to cutting-edge AI research, customized training and a career-enhancing experience.
Wright was among fewer than 3% of applicants selected for the program. He was selected by Col. Scott Ruppel, director of the Department of the Air Force-MIT Artificial Intelligence Accelerator, after briefing him at Otis Air National Guard Base on the 267th Intelligence Squadron’s mission. During the briefing, Wright explained how, as a cyber analyst with the 267th Intelligence Squadron, he leveraged AI to support fellow analysts. He has a strong interest in emerging technologies and AI-enabled systems.
“It was eye-opening to see how much academia is working to solve Department of War problems,” Wright said. “The work being done at MIT Lincoln Laboratory – taking foundational research from the MIT campus and applying it to real-world DAF challenges – is cutting-edge and a key reason the U.S. military remains the most formidable in the world. Programs like this allow talent that might otherwise be confined to a single Air Force Specialty Code [AFSC] to thrive and drive innovation across the Air Force and the DoW.”
During the program, Wright served as the only enlisted Airman on his team and was among the first junior enlisted Airmen selected in the program’s history, contributing operational military and intelligence experience to his projects.
“Junior members often bring a different level of energy,” said Master Sgt. Nathaniel Maidel, research chief for imagery intelligence operations with the DAF-MIT AIA. “They tend to be younger and are not afraid of fresh ideas or taking on challenges that those of us with more experience or institutional knowledge may choose to avoid, given that experience. Senior Airman Wright was no different. His willingness to jump into new domains and engage with experts from different fields helped progress our efforts to make AI real for Airmen and Guardians.”
The Phantom Program immerses participants in advanced AI research and practical application. As a Phantom, Wright worked alongside leading AI researchers, Airmen and Space Force Guardians on a range of projects, contributing his expertise while helping bridge research and real-world implementation.
Throughout the 22-week fellowship, Wright completed 60 hours of independent AI education and contributed to the “Multi-Foundational Models for Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Decision-Making” project. The team leveraged foundational research from MIT in collaboration with Lincoln Laboratory at Hanscom Air Force Base, Massachusetts, focusing on few-shot computer vision models.
In addition to his team assignment, Wright completed an individual capstone project addressing an operational challenge relevant to the 102nd Intelligence Wing and broader U.S. Air Force and Department of War missions. He authored a research paper and capstone brief titled “Synthetic Network Data Generation for Analyst Training,” which explored the use of large language models to generate synthetic malicious network data to enhance cyber analyst training.
“One of the hardest parts about innovation is clearly identifying the problem you are trying to solve,” Maidel said. “Through the Phantom program and his individual research project, Phantoms like SrA Wright bring real issues to research that may be overlooked or under-resourced. He brought a clearly defined problem facing cyber defenders and an idea on how to solve it. The AIA and Phantom program simply provided the opportunity and resources to pursue that solution.”
As a Phantom alum, Wright is now tasked with demonstrating responsible AI implementation within the 102nd Intelligence Wing. He is expected to serve as an AI advocate, fostering a culture of forward thinking while emphasizing that people remain the true AI capability and the technology serves as a tool to support national defense. He will continue leveraging the professional network he built during the program to sustain those efforts.
“Senior Airman Wright is now responsible for promoting the program and mentoring his fellow Airmen who are interested in AI,” said Maj. Phillip Benevides, director of intelligence for the 102nd Intelligence Wing. “As members of the 102nd Intelligence Wing, Airmen have a unique opportunity, through our cooperative agreement with the DAF-MIT AIA, to participate in this premier AI program.”
“I am very grateful for my time at the DAF-MIT AIA,” Wright said. “I learned a lot and developed into the kind of AI talent the DoW needs to stay at the forefront of innovation.”
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