OpenAI, Google, Anthropic and xAI have each been awarded contracts by the US Department of Defense to advance the use of artificial intelligence (AI) for military purposes. The contracts are reportedly worth up to $200 million each, with the goal of using AI agents by military personnel and addressing critical national security challenges.
Today’s announcement follows a contract awarded to OpenAI last month. OpenAI for Government is being launched and is already being used by the Air Force Research Laboratory, NASA, NIH and the Treasury Department. Also announced by Anthropic is Claude Gov, which is being developed specifically for government operations such as strategic planning, operational support and intelligence analysis.
AI is expected to double military capabilities in the field and give them an advantage when facing enemies. Last year, AI was used to identify 85 targets for bombing in Iraq, Syria and Yemen. Israel has used AI The Gospel to bomb more than 200 enemy locations in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which continues to this day.