--- title: "Airmen criticize Air Force’s use of AI in suicide prevention training as ‘uncomfortable and odd’" description: "The Air Force says incorporating AI-generated imagery standardizes the training, but some airmen criticize it as being “cold and unnatural.”" date: "2026-09-30" modified: "2026-09-30" authors: - name: "Austin Campbell" job_title: "Contributing reporter" link: "https://taskandpurpose.com/authors/austin-campbell.md" url: "https://taskandpurpose.com/news/air-force-ai-suicide-prevention-training/" categories: - "Air Force" - "Military Branches" - "News" --- # Airmen criticize Air Force’s use of AI in suicide prevention training as ‘uncomfortable and odd’ ![Screenshots from Air Force videos that used AI-generated imagery.]() *A series of screenshots from an Air Force suicide prevention briefing that used AI-generated imagery. Air Force images.* A woman with a flawless complexion named Chase visits her friend Tyler West, a young enlisted Air Force member in emotional distress. She’s surprised to see his car outside and decides to stop by unannounced at his dorm room. She invites him to play volleyball and eat out with friends as a soulless smile crosses her face. But she also sees the pizza boxes littering the room behind her. After she leaves, West describes what Chase failed to notice. “I stopped answering calls, stopped cleaning up. I don't sleep. I'm either jittery or numb,” West says in a confused tone. “I feel exhausted, and I don't go out with my friends anymore because I can't afford to. I am late on some bills and having a hard time figuring this out.” In the end, Tyler does not go out with Chase. It may be because Tyler is struggling with an emotional crisis. Or, it could be because Tyler and Chase might be AI-generated images. The materials that make up the 2026 Suicide Prevention Total Force Awareness Training use several video segments with AI-generated [characters](), [scenarios]() and [presenters]() to deliver portions of the annual instruction required across the force. The Air Force did not specify which portions of the video presentations were AI-generated. The videos, which are used in training for all Air Force and Space Force members, depict airmen showing signs of stress and distress in fictional scenarios. The videos are intended, an official told Task & Purpose, to lead to facilitator-led discussions as groups watch them. [Training notes distributed online with videos even go so far as to note in all caps that]() “watching the video alone does not meet the training requirement.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2agGlJIK8c Since the videos began being used across the Air Force this year, they have drawn sharp criticism from rank-and-file service members. “I think to take such a human subject and to take the humanity from it is insensitive and feels as if the Air Force doesn’t recognize the impact of this training,” one Air Force member told Task & Purpose. The airman, a senior leader who works in Air Force mental health and who has dealt directly with patient suicides by Air Force members, spoke on the condition that their name not be used. “Does it meet the intent? Yes. Does it do it well? That would depend on the individual airman. For me it felt cold and unnatural,” they said. “Allowing AI to teach like this with little to no emotion and no human experience makes it feel uncomfortable and odd.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWNuv891tuY According to the Pentagon’s [2024 Annual Report on Suicide in the Military](), the latest year for which figures are available, military members commit suicide almost twice as frequently as Americans in the general public in the same age range. The military recorded roughly 23 suicides for every 100,000 service members, versus a rate of close to 13 per 100,000 among civilians. Young enlisted men, who make up the largest demographic of military members, committed about half of those suicides. An Air Force spokesperson told Task & Purpose that the videos ensure that “every Airman and Guardian receives the same information regardless of location or unit size. This shift from a traditional slide presentation to a co-facilitated model aligns with the Suicide Prevention and Response Independent Review Committee recommendations to modernize training.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikzaA6PjS40 Over the course of at least three videos that track symptoms of suicide risk in the AI-generated Airman West, he and characters said to be his supervisor and friends note he is showing up late to work, struggling to complete tasks and feeling ignored by his supervisor. “I might as well be invisible,” he says. “No one cares. Why isn't anyone asking if I'm OK? I don't want to keep pretending, but I don't know how to ask for help without looking weak.” The Air Force said mental health professionals and policy experts reviewed the training's content, delivery, and messaging. When asked whether the new training was tested with airmen before its service-wide release, the Air Force said: “Feedback is actively being gathered during implementation to ensure the training remains responsive to the needs of the force,” and added that the overall suicide prevention training program is evaluated “annually.” ## Prevention Overhaul after scathing report Several of the stressors the Air Force built into West's fictional story mirror problems documented among real airmen. A[ May 2026 Government Accountability Office report]() that looked at the service’s program between 2020 and 2024 found the Air Force had not fully evaluated the effectiveness of its annual suicide prevention training. Air Force officials identified one document as the service's entire evaluation plan, which GAO found only partially met three of 11 requirements established under Defense Department policy. The GAO found the service’s plan did not identify short-, intermediate- or long-term outcomes, connect training activities to those outcomes, or identify the time and resources needed for the evaluation. It also lacked benchmarks for its pre- and post-training knowledge checks or plans to address poor results. For some airmen, however, the problem isn't simply whether the training conveys the required information, but what using AI says about the service’s approach to suicide. “It's impersonal, and it generally communicates, ‘We're required to pretend that we care about this, so this is the absolute bare minimum effort we can dedicate to the subject,’” an active duty officer with close to two decades in uniform told Task & Purpose. And some communities can be hit particularly hard. [A 2025 investigation by The Intercept news website identified]() at least 250 confirmed suicides among aircraft maintainers between 2010 and 2023. Another 45 maintainers died from drug overdoses and 11 from other preventable causes with unclear intent. Altogether, those deaths accounted for nearly 55% of all maintainer deaths identified in the records. More airmen have died by suicide since the period covered by the investigation. Guns were also a recurring presence in the records. Self-inflicted gunshot wounds to the head or hanging were among the most common methods of suicide documented in the data. The officer said using generative AI to address a crisis that has killed hundreds of airmen only deepened their concern about how seriously the service treats its suicide prevention efforts. “With a subject as sensitive and important as this one, the product fails to accomplish anything other than showing derision for the subject material,” they added. ## Author Austin Campbell is an investigative reporter covering the U.S. military, national security, foreign policy and federal accountability. His reporting has uncovered previously unreleased military death data, documented nearly $1.8 million in questionable Air Force procurement spending, and exposed institutional failures across the military and federal government. His investigations have been cited multiple times by members of Congress and prompted congressional oversight of federal agencies. His work has appeared in The Intercept, Military.com, and Responsible Statecraft. A former U.S. Air Force aircraft armament specialist, Campbell holds a master's degree from UNC Chapel Hill's Hussman School of Journalism and Media.