OpenAI Hires Ex-Pentagon Chief as Defense Ties Grow

OpenAI hired former U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll on November 2, two months after he left the Pentagon, giving the company another high-level link to the government agencies that buy and use AI. The company created a bespoke role for Driscoll as senior counselor for national security modernization. OpenAI says he’ll advise public- and private-sector partners on policy and strategy; the work sits squarely where corporate technology and state power meet.

The revolving door, now hiring

Driscoll’s move follows OpenAI’s appointment of retired U.S. Army General Paul Nakasone, a former National Security Agency director, to its board in June 2024. Later that year, OpenAI partnered with American defense firm Anduril to integrate OpenAI systems with Anduril’s database of unmanned-drone threats.

Gwanhoo Lee, chair of the Department of Information Technology and Analytics at American University's Kogod School of Business, described the hire as part of a business strategy built around government access. “This hire is a continuation of their trend to see the opportunity in hiring significant government officials to strengthen their relationship with the government and strengthen their business in dealing with the government agencies,” Lee told Fortune.

Lee also raised concerns about procurement and conflicts of interest when officials move from government into companies seeking government business. “If AI companies can take high-level officers from the Pentagon or any other important government agencies right after they've left their organizations, in terms of procurement process, I don't know how fair the government procurement process will be when AI companies have significant individuals from that organization,” he said. He added, “As AI companies take on national security risks, we need clearer rules on oversight and conflict interest, so I think there is some governance concern.” OpenAI said all parties knew about post-employment restrictions and would comply.

The contracts behind the assurances

OpenAI received a $200 million Department of Defense contract in June 2025 to design AI tools for national security challenges. In February, the company signed a deal to deploy its AI models in the Pentagon’s secure networks. The deal included an “all lawful use” clause, allowing broad use within legal limits while retaining restrictions on how the government could use the technology.

That language sits alongside an unresolved question: what counts as surveillance when AI analyzes enormous stores of data? Technology policy experts said the Pentagon deal left room for legal loopholes. Samir Jain, vice president of policy at the Center for Democracy & Technology, said, “Right now, under U.S. law, it's lawful for government authorities to buy up commercially available information from data brokers and other third parties.” He warned that AI analysis of large quantities of purchased data could amount “in effect” to mass surveillance of Americans, which he said is “not currently restricted by law or prohibited by law.”

OpenAI said in a blog post updated in March that it added language stating its system wouldn’t be intentionally used for domestic surveillance, consistent with the Fourth Amendment, the National Security Act of 1947 and other applicable laws. The company also said the Pentagon understood limits on deliberately tracking U.S. persons or nationals, including through commercial third-party personal information.

Security work, on whose terms?

While in government, Driscoll supported low-cost battlefield drones, reducing red tape for defense contractors developing drones, and moving the Pentagon toward commercial software instead of custom-built military software. He also traveled across Europe to broker talks between Ukrainian and European officials in an effort to end the war between Russia and Ukraine, and made a secret trip to the Middle East to meet Russian officials.

His Pentagon departure followed widely reported tensions with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, particularly over promotions and the scale of modernization efforts. It came after the ousting of Gen. Randy George, the agency’s top uniformed official, in April and the June resignation of Gen. Christopher Donahue, a supporter of unmanned-drone use in Ukraine.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman called the appointment an opportunity to spread “democratic AI” with other countries. Driscoll said the technology could cut through paperwork and get answers to the right people faster, adding that he was joining to help the United States and its allies use it responsibly “for the people who keep us safe.” Fortune reported that Driscoll didn’t respond to its request for comment. The article describes no community-led response or mutual-aid effort; the people whose safety and privacy are at stake appear instead as the justification for decisions made by government agencies and a company seeking defense work.