Keep pulling the thread on Emil Michael.
The Department of War is significantly behind in its adoption and application of AI technology.
China has been engaged in the largest military buildup in history since the mid-2000s, and the United States has failed to keep pace.
The United States has created critical national security vulnerabilities by outsourcing domestic production of key materials like critical minerals and batteries.
Applied AI is the number one priority among the six new critical technology areas for the Department of War.
The number of personnel at the Department of War using AI increased from 80,000 to 1.2 million within a 90-day period.
Contracts for commercial AI models used by the Department of War under the previous administration prohibited using the AI to plan operations or move satellites if it could potentially lead to a kinetic strike.
The Department of War was in a vendor-lock situation with a single commercial AI provider whose restrictive terms were embedded in systems used by Central Command, Indo-Paycom, and Southcom.
A senior executive at a primary AI vendor for the Department of War questioned whether their software was used during the successful Maduro raid, expressing concern about its military application.
China is stealing American AI models, removing their safety guardrails, and has the potential to use these modified models against the United States.
The Department of War is shifting its procurement model from prescriptive, cost-plus contracts to simpler, outcome-based requirements with firm-fixed-price contracts, similar to the model used by SpaceX.
The Department of War reduced its number of critical technology priority areas from 14 to six after Emil Michael became CTO.
After the Cold War, Pentagon leadership advised the defense industry to consolidate and prioritize shareholder returns over innovation, an event known as "the Last Supper," which led to the industry consolidating to four or five prime contractors.