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October 1, 2026
2:00 pm
EVENT: Winning the Adoption War: Diffusing AI Across the U.S. Military
The United States leads the world in frontier artificial intelligence. However, cutting edge technology used by a limited number of people is a trophy, not a capability – and the contest with China will not be decided only at the frontier.
If the most sophisticated technology on earth reaches only a fraction of the force, how much advantage does it confer? How is the Pentagon moving from procuring AI to diffusing it across the force? What cultural and organizational changes does an “AI-first” military require? And how does the United States build and keep the technical talent inside government, turning tools into outcomes before its competitors close the gap?
To discuss these questions and others, the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) hosts a conversation with FDD Visiting Military Fellow Major Megan “Napalm” Hainline, F-16 instructor pilot and AI leader; FDD Adjunct Fellow Isaac “Ike” Harris, executive director of the Frontier Security Institute; and Leah Siskind, FDD AI Research Fellow. The discussion will be moderated by RADM (Ret.) Mark Montgomery, Senior Director of FDD’s Center on Cyber and Technology Innovation.
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Mark Dubowitz
Chief Executive
- Iran Sanctions
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RADM (Ret.) Mark Montgomery
CCTI Senior Director and Senior Fellow
Edmund Fitton-Brown
Senior Fellow
Bridget Toomey
Research Analyst
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Former President of Taiwan
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Overnight Brief: October 15, 2026
Read Full BriefToday In Issues:
FDD Research & Analysis
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- "Iraq After the US Military Withdrawal: Militia Disarmament Will Decide the Outcome," 1945
- "Bogus Bylines: AI Lets One Iran-Origin Operation Run the Full Influence Playbook," FDD Policy Brief
- "AI-Assisted Bank Hacks Expose a Blind Spot in South Korea’s Cyber Defenses," FDD Policy Brief
- "Bank of America Hit With Historic $1.2 Billion Fine for Illicit Finance Failures," FDD Policy Brief
- "Shipshow: The world’s waterways are at war," Generation Jihad (FDD's Long War Journal)
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