Compiled by Futu News
The day after Anthropic filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration for designating the company as a supply chain risk, Google is deepening its relationship with the Department of Defense and expanding the role of its Gemini AI model within military agencies.
On Tuesday, Google announced a new feature that allows civilian and military personnel to build customized artificial intelligence agents for unclassified work on the Pentagon's enterprise-level AI portal, GenAI.mil. More than 3 million employees at the Department of Defense can now use a no-code or low-code tool called Agent Designer to create their own digital assistants to handle repetitive administrative tasks.
Google stated that these agents can assist with tasks such as drafting meeting minutes, formulating action plans, and breaking down large projects into step-by-step solutions. They will initially operate on non-classified networks, but discussions are reportedly underway to expand their use into classified and top-secret environments.
Emil Michael, the Chief Technology Officer of the Department of Defense, told Bloomberg that he has full confidence in Google being "an excellent partner across all networks." Michael also told Bloomberg that the Pentagon is "moving past" its dispute with Anthropic and that the issue will not be resolved in court.
Last Thursday, Anthropic confirmed it had been officially designated as a supply chain risk, a move historically reserved for foreign adversaries. In its lawsuit filed on Monday, Anthropic described the government's actions as "unprecedented and unlawful," stating that the designation is causing the company "irreparable harm." Anthropic was removed due to its refusal to allow the Department of Defense to use its technology for autonomous weapons or domestic surveillance.
Until recently, Anthropic was the sole AI provider operating in the Pentagon’s classified cloud environment. However, the Department of Defense has now connected OpenAI and Elon Musk’s xAI to restricted networks while also expanding its collaboration with Google. This deployment comes amid growing controversy within the tech industry over the military’s use of AI.
Jeff Dean, head of Google's AI division, joined dozens of employees from OpenAI and Google in signing an amicus brief supporting Anthropic's lawsuit against the Pentagon. Previously, some employees jointly submitted a letter calling for clear restrictions on how the company collaborates with the military. Dean also acknowledged internal concerns regarding military AI and surveillance.
Editor/Rocky