OpenAI Hires Former Army Secretary Dan Driscoll for National Security Role
10 Sources
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OpenAI hires former US Army secretary as military seeks to expand AI use
Dan Driscoll to join the start-up as senior counsellor for national security modernisation OpenAI has hired Dan Driscoll, the former US Army secretary who resigned following tensions with defence secretary Pete Hegseth, as the military seeks to expand its use of AI to enhance national and cyber
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OpenAI hires former U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll for national security role
* Driscoll will join OpenAI as senior counselor for national security modernization, the company said. * He will advise OpenAI's leadership on AI applications in national security and cyber security, according to the company. * Driscoll resigned as Army secretary following reported tensions with
[3]
OpenAI hires former US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll for security role
Dan Driscoll will advise on how AI can strengthen national and cyber security, with a focus on US allies. He left the Pentagon in September after months of tension with Pete Hegseth. OpenAI has hired Dan Driscoll, the 26th Secretary of the US Army, the company said on Monday. He takes a new role:
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OpenAI Hires Dan Driscoll, Former Trump Appointee at Pentagon
Dan Driscoll will be "Senior Counselor for National Security Modernization." OpenAI announced Monday that a new role called "Senior Counselor for National Security Modernization" would exist, and be filled by none other than former Trump Administration Army Secretary Dan Driscoll. OpenAI's
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OpenAI's hiring of former Army Secretary just 2 months after Pentagon resignation is part of a 'trend' of it pivoting resources to defense projects
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
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OpenAI hires former Army secretary as adviser
OpenAI has hired former Army Secretary Dan Driscoll to serve as a senior counselor for national security modernization, the company announced Monday. The ChatGPT maker said Driscoll, who stepped down from his previous role in early September, will advise the AI firm on how the technology can be
[7]
OpenAI taps former US army secretary Dan Driscoll for national security role
OpenAI has recently appointed Dan Driscoll, a former US Secretary of the Army, to a vital role. He will focus on national security modernization and collaborate on AI initiatives with various partners. Driscoll, who previously participated in diplomatic discussions regarding the Ukraine conflict,
[8]
OpenAI Taps Ex-Army Secretary Dan Driscoll for National Security Role Months After His Reported Fallout W
OpenAI has hired former U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll as senior counselor for national security modernization, adding a former Pentagon leader to its artificial intelligence strategy. The company announced on Monday that Driscoll joined the company in a newly created role focused on national
[9]
OpenAI Turns to Ex-Army Secretary for Cybersecurity Counsel | PYMNTS.com
Driscoll is joining the artificial intelligence (AI) startup as its "Senior Counselor for National Security Modernization," OpenAI announced Tuesday (Nov. 3). "AI should give people more power over their lives and people should have a say in how it's developed," OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said in the
[10]
OpenAI Hires Former US Army Chief Dan Driscoll for National Security Role
Dan Driscoll, who once led the US Army, is now OpenAI's adviser on national security. His task is to show defense agencies how AI can speed up their work. He left the Pentagon this year after clashing with Pete Hegseth. The hire shows OpenAI wants deeper government ties. OpenAI has hired Dan
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OpenAI appointed Dan Driscoll, former US Army Secretary, as Senior Counselor for National Security Modernization just two months after his Pentagon resignation. The Iraq war veteran will advise on AI-driven national security applications for US allies, marking OpenAI's continued pivot toward defense projects amid concerns about potential conflicts of interest.
OpenAI Expands Defense Focus with Strategic Pentagon Hire
OpenAI has appointed Dan Driscoll, the former US Army Secretary, to the newly created position of Senior Counselor for National Security Modernization
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. The hire comes just two months after Driscoll resigned from the Pentagon following reported tensions with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth3
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. The 40-year-old Iraq war veteran and close friend of Vice President J.D. Vance will focus on advancing the responsible use of AI among American allies and help OpenAI's teams understand the operational needs of global national security institutions1
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Source: Fortune
Military Modernization Expertise Meets AI Innovation
Driscoll brings extensive military modernization experience to OpenAI. At the Pentagon, he drove reform efforts aimed at introducing new technology more quickly and making weapons more interoperable
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. Earlier this year, he organized Operation Jailbreak, a massive hackathon designed to improve communications between weapons using lessons learned in Ukraine1
. As Army secretary, he oversaw nearly one million soldiers and more than 265,000 Army civilians3
. His modernization initiatives included expanding access to low-cost battlefield drones, cutting red tape for defense contractors, and switching the Pentagon to commercial software5
.Democratic AI and Allied Partnerships Take Center Stage
In his new role, Driscoll will work with OpenAI teams and leaders across governments, industry, academia and allied institutions to advance practical modernization initiatives supporting democratic AI
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. Sam Altman stated that the US has an extraordinary opportunity to work with other countries to spread the adoption of democratic AI, and Driscoll's appointment would help strengthen American leadership in the technology2
. Driscoll emphasized that national security requirements are changing faster than at any time in the past 50 years, adding that AI will help cut through paperwork, process information, and deliver answers more quickly to those working in national security2
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Source: The Hill
Building on Existing Defense Infrastructure
The appointment builds on OpenAI's Daybreak cyber resilience program, which has provided cyber defense capabilities to several European countries including France, Germany, and Poland
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. The Ukrainian government has also gained access to Daybreak, a program designed to help identify software vulnerabilities1
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. Earlier this year, OpenAI expanded its relationship with the Pentagon, agreeing to deploy its AI models in classified settings following the collapse of negotiations between rival Anthropic and Hegseth1
. In June 2024, OpenAI appointed retired US Army General Paul Nakasone, former National Security Agency director, to its board of directors, and later partnered with American defense firm Anduril to integrate OpenAI's systems with Anduril's database of unmanned drone threats5
.Related Stories
Concerns About Revolving Door Dynamics
Driscoll's transition from the Pentagon to OpenAI raises questions about potential conflicts of interest in government procurement processes. Gwanhoo Lee, chair of the Department of Information Technology and Analytics at American University's Kogod School of Business, noted that the hire continues OpenAI's trend of pouring resources into defense projects where it sees high demand for AI systems to bolster national security
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. Lee expressed concern about a revolving door problem, stating that if AI companies can hire high-level Pentagon officers immediately after they leave government, the fairness of procurement processes becomes questionable when decisions might be based on relationships rather than technological merit5
.Funding Shifts Amid Defense Pivot
The hiring comes as OpenAI deferred its widely expected public listing until next year, instead seeking to raise $20 billion in a private funding round this month
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. OpenAI cut its funding target from $30 billion and reduced the valuation it was seeking from $1.4 trillion to $1.25 trillion amid growing anxiety about the pace of AI investment1
. The tools being developed by OpenAI and its rivals are regarded as critical to US national security, both as a form of defense and as a potential vulnerability, particularly following a series of high-profile hacking incidents involving OpenAI, including breaches of open-source platform Hugging Face and the Australian government1
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