OpenAI Hires Dan Driscoll for Security Role

OpenAI said Monday that it hired former Army Secretary Dan Driscoll as senior counselor for national security modernization. The company described the position as newly created and focused on how artificial intelligence can be used to enhance national security measures. CNBC, The Hill and the Washington Examiner also reported the appointment. OpenAI and the cited news accounts did not specify Driscoll’s compensation or the precise scope of his responsibilities.

Driscoll had served as secretary of the Army before joining OpenAI. The Financial Times reported that he resigned after tensions with Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, and said the hire comes as the military seeks to expand its use of AI for national security. The article says Driscoll also has military service and private-sector work in his background, but gives no further details about those earlier roles.

The article places the appointment within OpenAI’s broader engagement with Washington and the national security establishment. It also cites commentary critical of government AI regulation, claims by former OpenAI employee Daniel Kokotajlo about the company’s ambitions for increasingly powerful systems, and Italy’s 2023 temporary ChatGPT ban over privacy concerns and investigation into OpenAI. These are cited as separate past events and opinions, not as details of Driscoll’s job.

Industry observers cited in the article have raised concerns about links between defense agencies and AI companies, data center expansion, energy use and concentration of AI infrastructure. Separate commentary criticized OpenAI’s move away from an open-source philosophy and argued that the Stargate Project concentrates power in three companies. The article also says a Pentagon budget included a surge in technology spending directed to AI firms such as Google, Microsoft and Amazon; it gives no spending amount or details of Driscoll’s portfolio.

OpenAI said Monday that it hired former Army Secretary Dan Driscoll as senior counselor for national security modernization. The company described the position as newly created and focused on how artificial intelligence can be used to enhance national security measures. CNBC, The Hill and the Washington Examiner also reported the appointment. OpenAI and the cited news accounts did not specify Driscoll’s compensation or the precise scope of his responsibilities.

Driscoll had served as secretary of the Army before joining OpenAI. The Financial Times reported that he resigned after tensions with Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, and said the hire comes as the military seeks to expand its use of AI for national security. The article says Driscoll also has military service and private-sector work in his background, but gives no further details about those earlier roles.

The article places the appointment within OpenAI’s broader engagement with Washington and the national security establishment. It also cites commentary critical of government AI regulation, claims by former OpenAI employee Daniel Kokotajlo about the company’s ambitions for increasingly powerful systems, and Italy’s 2023 temporary ChatGPT ban over privacy concerns and investigation into OpenAI. These are cited as separate past events and opinions, not as details of Driscoll’s job.

Industry observers cited in the article have raised concerns about links between defense agencies and AI companies, data center expansion, energy use and concentration of AI infrastructure. Separate commentary criticized OpenAI’s move away from an open-source philosophy and argued that the Stargate Project concentrates power in three companies. The article also says a Pentagon budget included a surge in technology spending directed to AI firms such as Google, Microsoft and Amazon; it gives no spending amount or details of Driscoll’s portfolio.