- The Pentagon confirms that it is expanding the use of Google Gemini
- Gemini will be used for classified projects as part of the agreement
- More than 700 Google employees signed an open letter opposing the deal
Pentagon AI chief Cameron Stanley has confirmed that the Department of Defense (DoD) has secured the use of Google’s Gemini AI model.
Gemini will be used for classified projects, CNBC reports, citing a source familiar with the matter. Google employees recently asked CEO Sundar Pichai to reject any use of Gemini for “classified purposes.”
The Department of Defense has also recently expanded its AI capabilities to include OpenAI offerings, with Stanley commenting, “Overreliance on a single vendor is never a good thing. We’re seeing that, especially in software.”
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Pentagon to use Gemini for classified projects
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth designated Anthropic a “supply chain risk” after the company refused to allow its Claude model to be used for “massive domestic surveillance” and “fully autonomous weapons” in its contract with the Pentagon.
The Pentagon then canceled its $200 million contract with Anthropic, and government contractors working on behalf of the U.S. military were banned from using the company’s technology. Anthropic is now embroiled in a legal battle with the Pentagon over the designation.
To fill the gap left by Anthropic, the Department of Defense has been working to secure the use of new artificial intelligence tools from OpenAI and Google, along with many other technology providers.
A Google spokesperson told CNBC: “We support government agencies on classified and unclassified projects, applying our expertise to areas such as logistics, cybersecurity, diplomatic translation, fleet maintenance, and critical infrastructure defense.”
The Pentagon seeks to leverage artificial intelligence tools to maintain US hegemony on the global stage. “I have a personal quote that I often say these days: You don’t cook a Thanksgiving turkey in the microwave,” Stanley said. “You need to have the right technology for the right use case to achieve the right outcome.”
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