AI and the Future of Warfare with US Under Secretary of War Emil Michael

What It Covers

Emil Michael, Department of Defense Under Secretary for Research and Engineering, details his mission to modernize military technology through AI deployment, defense industrial base expansion, and streamlined procurement processes for startups.

Key Questions Answered

• •GenAI.mil deployment: Launched AI platform to 3 million DoD employees in 60 days using Gemini, achieving 1 million unique users in 30 days with architected data isolation to prevent information leakage into commercial model training pools.
• •Defense procurement reform: Changed RFP process from 300-page requirement documents to problem-statement approach, enabling startups to propose novel solutions rather than only established primes excelling at bureaucratic compliance and lengthy questionnaires.
• •Strategic capital deployment: Office of Strategic Capital provides $200 billion in lending authority at Treasury rates plus 100 basis points to scale domestic production of critical components like germanium, brushless motors, and fiber optic cable.
• •Technology prioritization framework: Reduced critical technology areas from 14 to 6 focused domains including applied AI, scaled hypersonics, and directed energy weapons, enabling concentrated resource allocation and measurable sprint-based execution against specific objectives.