Use of artificial intelligence by the United States Department of Defense

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The United States Department of Defense has been analyzing and employing military applications of artificial intelligence since at least 2014. The program initially focused on drones and other robots, but has also been using large language models for military research and analysis. The current US policy on lethal autonomous weapons is Department of Defense Directive 3000.09, updated in January 2023.[1]

Background

The United States Department of Defense began developing lethal autonomous weapons as early as the Reagan administration. An early version of the Tomahawk missile could have been used to destroy Soviet ships without direct human control; the initiative was abandoned after the United States and the Soviet Union signed START I. By 2014, the United Kingdom, Israel, and Norway had already begun using missiles equipped with artificial intelligence systems.[2] The Department of Defense established a policy on the use of artificial intelligence in 2012.[3]

History

2016–2017: Carter secretaryship

Footage from a drone equipped with an artificial intelligence system at Camp Edwards in August 2016

In May 2016, secretary of defense Ash Carter stated that his Third Offset strategy would include utilizing artificial intelligence as a military advantage.[4] The New York Times reported that year that the Department of Defense had tested an autonomous drone at an approximation of a Middle Eastern village at Camp Edwards. Deputy secretary of defense Robert O. Work, who advocated for developing artificial intelligence, told the Times that the United States needed to compete with China and Russia by having a tactical advantage they could not easily replicate. The initiative was developed by DARPA beginning in 2015.[5] The use of artificial intelligence in the U.S. military was controversial within the department;[5] in February, Paul Scharre, who worked for the Office of the Secretary of Defense in the secretaryships of Robert Gates and Leon Panetta, published a report about the risks of artificial intelligence for broad military applications.[3]

2017–2019: Mattis secretaryship

By 2017, the United States Air Force had already begun using artificial intelligence in military robots. The Air Force's use of Neurala, an artificial intelligence company, concerned officials in the Department of Defense after an investigation found that Neurala had accepted money from an investment firm with funding from a state-run Chinese company.[6] The Department of Defense began heavily investing in artificial intelligence after Work established Project Maven, an initiative to encourage the development and integration of artificial intelligence in the military, in April 2017.[7] In May 2018, secretary of defense Jim Mattis privately expressed to president Donald Trump that he needed to establish a national strategy on artificial intelligence, quoting an article from former secretary of state Henry Kissinger that called for a presidential commission on the technology. The Department of Defense established the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center the following month.[8] Google began working with the Department of Defense on analyzing drone footage as early as March.[9] Google's involvement in the initiative led to protests from employees and mass resignations.[10] Seeking to quell internal unrest, Google stated it would not renew its contract with the Department of Defense in June.[11] The Department of Defense announced an artificial intelligence contract with Microsoft in October.[12]

2025–present: Hegseth secretaryship

In December 2025, secretary of defense Pete Hegseth announced GenAI.mil, an artificial intelligence platform for the Department of Defense. In a video announcing the platform, Hegseth stated that Department of Defense workers would be able to "conduct deep research, format documents and even analyze video or imagery." The Department of Defense contracted first Gemini by Google, then ChatGPT by OpenAI, and finally Grok by xAI for the platform.[13] Claude by Anthropic was also contracted by the Department of Defense and was in use on secure servers until it was revealed that Claude had been used in the 2026 operation to capture Nicolás Maduro, who was at the time the leader of Venezuela.[14] This revelation sparked a high-profile dispute over Anthropic's ability to constrain Claude's usage, resulting in the termination of Anthropic's $200 million defense contract.[15] The Department of Defense also moved to label Anthropic a supply chain risk, which was later blocked by a federal judge.[16]

References

  1. Sayler, Kelley M. (2026-03-26). "Defense Primer: U.S. Policy on Lethal Autonomous Weapon Systems". Congressional Research Service Products (Library of Congress). Retrieved 2026-05-08.
  2. Markoff, John (November 11, 2014). "Fearing Bombs That Can Pick Whom to Kill". The New York Times. Retrieved February 27, 2026.
  3. Markoff, John (February 28, 2016). "Report Cites Dangers of Autonomous Weapons". The New York Times. Retrieved February 27, 2026.
  4. Markoff, John (May 11, 2016). "Pentagon Turns to Silicon Valley for Edge in Artificial Intelligence". The New York Times. Retrieved February 27, 2026.
  5. Rosenberg, Matthew; Markoff, John (October 25, 2016). "The Pentagon's 'Terminator Conundrum': Robots That Could Kill on Their Own". The New York Times. Retrieved February 27, 2026.
  6. Mozur, Paul; Perlez, Jane (March 22, 2017). "China Bets on Sensitive U.S. Start-Ups, Worrying the Pentagon". The New York Times. Retrieved February 27, 2026.
  7. Simonite, Tom (May 29, 2018). "Pentagon Will Expand AI Project Prompting Protests at Google". Wired. Retrieved February 27, 2026.
  8. Metz, Cade (August 26, 2018). "Artificial Intelligence Is Now a Pentagon Priority. Will Silicon Valley Help?". The New York Times. Retrieved February 27, 2026.
  9. Metz, Cade (March 15, 2018). "Pentagon Wants Silicon Valley's Help on A.I." The New York Times. Retrieved February 27, 2026.
  10. Shane, Scott; Metz, Cade; Wakabayashi, Daisuke (May 30, 2018). "How a Pentagon Contract Became an Identity Crisis for Google". The New York Times. Retrieved February 27, 2026.
  11. Wakabayashi, Daisuke; Shane, Scott (May 30, 2018). "Google Will Not Renew Pentagon Contract That Upset Employees". The New York Times. Retrieved February 27, 2026.
  12. Sanger, David (October 26, 2018). "Microsoft Says It Will Sell Pentagon Artificial Intelligence and Other Advanced Technology". The New York Times. Retrieved February 27, 2026.
  13. Konkel, Frank (2026-04-27). "Pentagon adds Google's latest model to GenAI.mil as usage soars". Defense One. Retrieved 2026-05-22.
  14. Christou, William (2026-02-14). "US military used Anthropic's AI model Claude in Venezuela raid, report says". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2026-05-22.
  15. "What to know about the clash between the Pentagon and Anthropic over military's AI use". AP News. 2026-02-28. Retrieved 2026-05-22.
  16. Cole, Hadas Gold, Devan (2026-03-26). "Judge blocks Pentagon's effort to 'punish' Anthropic by labeling it a supply chain risk | CNN Business". CNN. Retrieved 2026-05-22.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)