Top AI companies agree to Pentagon deals for classified work

The Defense Department has completed agreements with eight technology companies, including many of the industry’s biggest, to use their artificial-intelligence capabilities in classified settings, boosting the Pentagon’s efforts to gain access to cutting-edge AI tools.

The department said Friday it was now capable of using in classified settings the technology and models from ChatGPT maker OpenAI, Alphabet’s Google, Elon Musk’s SpaceX, Microsoft, Amazon, Oracle, Nvidia and a startup, Reflection AI. SpaceX owns Musk’s AI company, xAI.

While some of the companies, including OpenAI and SpaceX, had initial deals with the Pentagon agreeing to have their AI tools used by the military in all lawful scenarios, completing the contracts is an important step toward embedding them in day-to-day operations. The deals show how much of Silicon Valley is agreeing to the Defense Department’s terms in a way that Anthropic didn’t when it rejected the Pentagon’s contract earlier this year in what spiraled into a monthslong feud. The deals also highlight how the Pentagon is racing to incorporate AI into its systems.

Read more at Wall Street Journal