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An early look at the Pentagon's plan to deliver AI at scale under Trump

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defensescoop.com·defensescoop.com/2025/12/08/emil-michael-dod-deliver-ai-a...

Relevant to AI governance and policy discussions around military AI deployment; the DoD's approach to scaling AI has implications for safety standards, oversight mechanisms, and the pace of capability deployment in high-stakes contexts.

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Importance: 35/100news articlenews

Summary

This article covers Emil Michael's role and vision for scaling AI deployment within the Department of Defense under the Trump administration. It likely addresses the strategic priorities, organizational challenges, and policy directions for integrating AI capabilities into military and defense operations at scale.

Key Points

  • •Emil Michael is positioned as a key figure driving AI adoption and scaling within the Department of Defense under the Trump administration.
  • •The focus is on delivering AI 'at scale,' suggesting emphasis on broad deployment rather than limited pilot programs.
  • •Defense AI initiatives involve significant governance and policy decisions about how AI is integrated into military systems.
  • •The article likely addresses procurement, organizational structure, and inter-agency coordination challenges for DoD AI.
  • •This represents part of a broader trend of governments accelerating military AI capabilities amid geopolitical competition.

Cited by 1 page

PageTypeQuality
US Government Technology WorkforceAnalysis--

1 FactBase fact citing this source

EntityPropertyValueAs Of
US Government Technology WorkforceDoD AI Budget Request$13.4 billionJan 2026

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An early look at the Pentagon's plan to deliver AI at scale under Trump | DefenseScoop 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 

 

 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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 The Trump administration is gearing up to launch an ambitious new plan to spur the military’s near-term adoption of artificial intelligence assets by supplying commercial options directly to users on the ground across three categories that reflect real-world operational needs, according to the Pentagon’s chief technology officer.

 Questions have been circulating about the Defense Department’s path ahead for AI since August, when the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering assumed the authority, direction, and control of the Chief Digital and AI Office (CDAO) via a major workforce and organizational reshuffle.

 Pentagon CTO and R&E leader Emil Michael shared new details about the DOD’s latest pursuits to reform and accelerate AI integration for in-office functions and modern warfare, during a roundtable with reporters on Monday hosted by the Defense Writers Group. 

 “My idea is in the next [forthcoming] weeks — so a timeframe of days or weeks — where we’re going to start pushing the deployment of these [AI] capabilities directly to some portion, if not all, of the 3 million users at the Pentagon at different classification levels,” Michael told DefenseScoop. “And once you get it in front of them, people start to learn how to use it.”

 
 
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 The Pentagon has a storied and complex history with AI. Although DOD officials across multiple presidential administrations have prioritized it as a critical emerging technology area in recent years, the department’s AI efforts have simultaneously been hindered by procurement, ethics and personnel challenges.

 Its internal AI-pushing hub, the CDAO , achieved full operational capability in 2022. Its creation officially merged several earlier technology-focused organizations at the Pentagon — including the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center (JAIC), Defense Digital Service (DDS), Office of the Chief Data Officer, and the Advana and Maven programs — under the deputy secretary of defense.

 Earlier this year, the office was consolidated and moved into Michael’s directorate.

 Noting that the CDAO’s approach and mission has shape-shifted a number of times since its early days, he said the “new regime” will be primarily focused on building stronger relationships with major AI companies to quickly deliver models and tools that are tailored for Pentagon-specific use cases.

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