Marine Corps postpones generative AI workshop due to lapse in appropriations
The lapse in appropriations related to the ongoing federal government shutdown has compelled the Marine Corps to postpone a highly anticipated meeting that was expected to inform the integration of generative AI capabilities into the force.
The “workshop” was slated to take place Nov. 17-21 at Quantico and bring together Marines, civilians and industry. But due to the budget situation, the meeting has been pushed to next year, according to a MARADMIN cancellation message.
“Due to lapse in federal funding, the Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) workshop will be postponed until early CY 2026. Dates will be published via a new MARADMIN once confirmed. The [Service Data Officer] will maintain all registrations and applications for follow on coordination once new dates are confirmed,” per the message, which was approved for release Monday by Lt. Gen. Jerry Carter, deputy commandant for information.
The Trump administration and congressional Republicans have blamed the federal shutdown on Senate Democrats for not approving a “clean” continuing resolution to fund government operations while lawmakers negotiate on health care and other issues for fiscal 2026, which began Oct. 1. Democrats have criticized Trump for being unwilling to negotiate with them until the shutdown ends.
Marine Corps officials have noted that genAI tech is advancing rapidly and has broad applicability across the service’s functional areas and activities.
Earlier this year, the Marines released an artificial intelligence implementation plan that laid out objectives and tasks for pursuing the service’s strategic goals.
The Corps’ service data officer was tasked with convening the genAI workshop this fall to help officials better understand high-impact use cases for the technology, provide an overview and demonstrations of joint force and industry solutions, and develop courses of action for integrating capabilities.
“This is part of our deliberate weaponization of data and AI to drive cognitive overmatch, accelerate decision advantage, and amplify warfighter impact,” Colin Crosby, Marine Corps SDO and deputy chief data officer for the Department of the Navy, wrote in a post on LinkedIn several weeks ago.
Attendees were expected to conduct warfighter-focused evaluation of large language models and other genAI tools against real-world challenges.
When asked for comment on Tuesday about the postponement of the workshop and its potential impact on the service’s pursuit of these capabilities, a Marine Corps communications official referred DefenseScoop to the Office of the Secretary of Defense.
A Pentagon spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
