OpenAI's hire of former Pentagon official Dan Driscoll is part of 'trend' toward defense projects - Fortune
By Google News AI ·
OpenAI’s hiring of a recently departed Pentagon official points to the frontier lab’s growing interests in defense and expanding roster of former military officials in its ranks.
OpenAI has hired former U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll to the bespoke role of senior counselor for national security modernization, the company announced on Monday. The new job comes two months after Driscoll left the Trump administration after reportedly clashing with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
In the role, Driscoll will advise OpenAI’s public and private sector partners on how to modernize policy and strategy in support of improving national security with AI, according to OpenAI. The focus of his work will be on how AI can be used responsibly to improve security among the U.S. and its allies.
Gwanhoo Lee, the chair of the Department of Information Technology and Analytics at American University’s Kogod School of Business, said that by tapping Driscoll, OpenAI is continuing in its strategy of pouring resources into the defense sector, where it sees high demand for AI systems to bolster national security.
“This hire is a continuation of their trend to see the opportunity in hiring significant government officials to strengthen their relationship with the government and strengthen their business in dealing with the government agencies,” Lee told Fortune.
In June 2024, OpenAI appointed retired U.S. Army General Paul Nakasone, former National Security Agency director, to its board of directors. Later that year, it partnered with American defense firm Anduril to integrate OpenAI’s systems with Anduril’s database of unmanned drone threats.
Driscoll did not respond to Fortune’s request for comment.
Within the federal government, Driscoll pushed modernization efforts such as low-cost…
Originally published by Google News AI