The US Department of Defense on Friday signed agreements with seven artificial intelligence giants to deploy their powerful AI systems on its secure classified networks. The deals include well-known firms such as OpenAI, Google, Microsoft, Amazon Web Services, NVIDIA, SpaceX, and Reflection, a startup making powerful open-source AI.

The goal is to expand access to advanced AI technology within the US military for defense and security work. A statement from the Pentagon said it would deploy the firms' AI capabilities for "lawful operational use." The new AI systems will be integrated into the Pentagon's secure classified networks, known as Impact Levels 6 and 7, approved to handle information up to the secret level.

The Pentagon's main AI platform, GenAI.mil, has been used by more than 1.3 million Defense Department personnel in the five months since it launched. The department said GenAI.mil had cut "many tasks from months to days," adding that adding the other AI platforms "will give warfighters the tools they need to act with confidence and safeguard the nation against any threat."

The agreements notably exclude Anthropic, the firm behind the popular AI assistant Claude, due to a dispute over safety restrictions on military use. The Pentagon and its contractors barred Anthropic earlier this year after labeling it a supply-chain risk. Defense Department Chief Technology Officer Emil Michael told CNBC that Anthropic remains a supply chain risk, but described its Mythos AI model as "a separate national security moment."

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei met with senior Trump administration officials at the White House earlier this month to discuss the model, a meeting both sides described as productive. US President Donald Trump said last week that Anthropic was "shaping up" in the eyes of his administration, raising the possibility that the company could eventually have its blacklisting reversed.

Source: www.dw.com