Speed where it’s safe, caution where it might kill: How the Pentagon should use AI

“Military AI is going to be a race … where the risks to U.S. national security of moving too slowly outweigh the impacts of imperfect alignment,” Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said in announcing the Department of War’s artificial intelligence strategy.

The strategy’s theme is “Speed Wins,” and it directs the Department to “measure and manage cycle time and adoption rates as decisive variables in the AI era.” For many areas of work at the Pentagon, we applaud rapid adoption of agentic AI. However, when the consequences are lethal, speed must be balanced with rigorous testing and a better understanding of where AI could speed us to a dangerous outcome.

Speed is appropriate when automating non-mission-critical back-office functions. Freeing personnel from routine, repetitive tasks enables focus on higher-impact activities leveraging human judgment and creativity. Many of these back office tasks, like coding, logistics planning, and paperwork management, are indistinguishable from what commercial companies do. For instance, rather than combing through thousands of pages of budget materials manually, personnel can use natural language AI platforms like Obviant to search and analyze data.

Similarly, the department can use AI coding agents like those developed by OpenAI and Code Metal to automate coding tasks like software development and modernization, while tools like Watchtower can automate logistics planning and simulation.

Accordingly, the Pentagon launched GenAI.mil, an enterprise-wide AI platform for cutting-edge AI model access. Its 1.5 million users have already built more than 100,000 agents since the platform was launched in December 2025, automating database creation, personnel and account management, and drafting statements of work.

In early May, the Pentagon announced agreements with leading AI companies to........

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