Can Artificial Intelligence Help Improve Air Force Talent Management? An Exploratory Application

Both private and public organizations are increasingly taking advantage of improvements in computing power, data availability, and analytic capabilities to improve business processes. These trends have prompted U.S. Department of Defense policymakers to become more interested in whether adopting data-enabled methods would facilitate more-effective management of department personnel. In this report, RAND researchers explore one such application that would enable the U.S. Air Force to leverage existing data for improved human resource management (HRM) policies and practices. Specifically, the researchers develop a performance-scoring system that uses artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, which would enable the expanded use of performance narratives in HRM processes. The main purpose of this report is to serve as a worked example (i.e., a step-by-step solution to a problem) for Air Force policymakers as they consider how to approach the potential ways in which AI can improve HRM processes.