Department of Defense
3 storiesThe Department of Defense is the US federal department overseeing the military and funding defense-related research and technology. Recent coverage includes a dispute with Anthropic that led President Trump to direct federal agencies to stop using its technology, a nearly $10 million five-year AI research grant to Clark Atlanta University, and a budget request for $30.3 million over five years for an AI-assisted polygraph system called "Polygraph+".
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Congress has not enacted legislation specifically governing the DOD's use of frontier AI models or their reliability in autonomous weapons. Amid the Pentagon's dispute with Anthropic, President Trump in February directed federal agencies to stop using its technology and Defense Secretary Hegseth ordered it excluded from the supply chain; on Sept. 25 a D.C. Circuit panel upheld the exclusion. Anthropic CEO Amodei said frontier AI is not reliable enough for fully autonomous weapons.
Clark Atlanta University received a nearly $10 million five-year grant from the Department of Defense to expand AI research, strengthen programs in chemistry, math and physics, and offer more research opportunities to students and faculty.
A US Department of Defense budget request seeks $30.3 million over five years for "Polygraph+", which would use AI and machine learning to improve polygraph scoring plus touch-free "standoff sensing". Critics note polygraphs have never been scientifically validated since the 1920s, AI cannot fix the lack of a universal deception signal, and the tool may mainly pressure alleged leakers to confess.
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The A.I. Daily
Anthropic dispute highlights gaps in Pentagon AI oversight
