John (Jack) Shanahan, Lieutenant General (retired), United States Air Force, retired in 2020 after a 36-year military career. His final assignment was as the inaugural Director of the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) Joint Artificial Center (JAIC). Jack served in a variety of operational and staff positions in various fields including flying, intelligence, policy, and command and control. He commanded at the squadron, group, wing, Agency, and Numbered Air Force levels. As the first Director of the Algorithmic Warfare Cross- Functional Team (Project Maven), Jack established and led DoD’s pathfinder AI fielding program charged with bringing AI capabilities to intelligence collection and analysis.

Jack is currently a graduate student in the Master of International Studies program at North Carolina State University. He recently served as a Special Government Employee supporting the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence; is an Adjunct Senior Fellow with the Technology and National Security Program at the Center for a New American Security; serves on the Board of Advisors for the Common Mission Project; is an advisor to The Changing Character of War Centre (Oxford University); serves as an Advisor to the Military Cyber Professionals Association; and is a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Standards Association (IEEE-SA) Autonomous Weapons Systems Assurance and Safety Subcommittee. He also serves as a consultant on the use of AI-enabled technologies for national security.