This could be an option for a resource(CPU) hungry, research oriented AI. Basically it would be using shaders for computing, and textures as the data storage.
It would make sense for heavy calculations, and would be well suited for headless spring of course, as the GPU would be free then to be used by the AI. Either the AI supplies an alternative algorithm to be executed on the CPU, so it can be used in a normal game wihtout crippling the GPU/Graphics, or this algorithm would only be used for learning, and the AI can be run without using this algorithm at all.

forum thread of a project that did something comparable:
http://www.ogre3d.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=12914

General-Purpose Computation on Graphics Hardware:
http://gpgpu.org/

threat/influence mapping on the gpu seems very viable to me, and not only in research/academic AIs.

Better buy a graphics card for your 'headless' servers

:D yeah.. i was thinking on this too.. strange scenario, though it would kinda make sense :D

http://www.nvidia.com/object/preconfigu ... sters.html