We may not have achieved artificial general intelligence, but we’ve gotten a step closer to assigning artificial intelligence the title of General. On Tuesday, the Department of Defense (referred to as the Department of War by the current administration) announced that it is launching an AI platform called GenAI.mil, which will allow members of the military to access a suite of AI tools. The initial launch will feature Google’s Gemini 3 as the model, but the department claims other models will be integrated in the future.
“We are pushing all of our chips in on artificial intelligence as a fighting force. The Department is tapping into America’s commercial genius, and we’re embedding generative AI into our daily battle rhythm.” Secretary of War Pete Hegseth remarked, “AI tools present boundless opportunities to increase efficiency, and we are thrilled to witness AI’s future positive impact across the War Department.” On a video posted to X, Hegseth said, “The future of American warfare is here, and it’s spelled AI,” whatever that means.
The announcement of the platform is full of platitudes and short on details (so short, in fact, that Axios reported the agency hasn’t even commented on what capabilities employees can access via the newly deployed platform), but it seems the Department is deploying Gemini for Government, Google’s AI platform designed specifically to comply with government operations, via GenAI.mil, which will be accessible to over three million users at the Pentagon at different classification levels, including civilians, contractors, and military personnel. According to Axios, Emil Michael, the department’s chief technology officer, told reporters he believes the AI tools will be used to speed up day-to-day administrative tasks, analyze intelligence, and model and simulate conflicts.
In reality, it’ll probably be used primarily to draft emails, at least out of the gate. In a press release, Google said Gemini for Government can be used for “unclassified work,” including personnel onboarding and administrative tasks. That makes Hegseth’s bluster about creating an “AI-driven culture change that will dominate the digital battlefield for years to come” feel all the more over the top.
The deployment of AI in the department has been in the works for a while now. Bloomberg noted that Google secured a $200 million contract with the Department to provide AI tools back in July. Plenty of other AI companies are trying to get those sweet, sweet defense contracts, too. OpenAI, xAI, and Anthropic have all secured similar deals for projects within the War Department, and one can probably assume that at least some of their government-aligned models will eventually be integrated into the GenAI.mil platform in the near future.
Read the full article here
