The increasing use of artificial intelligence (AI) will impact the military in many ways. We examine how AI will affect the expertise, norms, and behavior of the officer corps as the leadership of Western militaries. In response to criticisms that officership does not align well with the traditional notion of a profession, our review proposes viewing officership through a different lens, as an institution rather than a profession.” Using the new alternative, a case study of one of the world’s leading units in adoption of big data and artificial intelligence, the Israel Defense Forces’ (IDF) Unit 8200, is analysed to reveal the impact of this change on the norms, ideas, and rules – i.e. institution – of officership in the unit, and the relations between officers and soldiers.