By Francis Kapper (Daily Caller News Foundation)
The Biden-era Air Force awarded nearly $750,000 to develop an artificial intelligence-powered virtual reality simulator for Air Force Academy cadets to practice conversations involving diversity, equity and inclusion, internal records show.
Smarter Reality LLC was awarded the contract to develop the simulator for the Air Force Academy, according to records obtained by the Functional Government Initiative (FGI). Dubbed the “Conflict Resolution Simulator,” the program was designed to combine virtual reality, natural language processing, voice recognition and AI to allow cadets to rehearse conversations with a virtual companion.
FGI obtained the records through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request and criticized the project as evidence that the Biden administration placed progressive priorities ahead of military readiness.
The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) awarded Smarter Reality LLC contract FA864922P1122 on July 20, 2022, for $749,895. The federal government’s USAspending database also identifies the award to Smarter Reality.