Emil Michael

The Federal Trade Commission approved a $2 billion merger between quantum computing company IonQ and chip manufacturer SkyWater despite objections from a senior Pentagon official. The Pentagon had sought restrictions to protect U.S. government investments in quantum computing, but the FTC's decision left the merged company without compliance obligations.

Current and former advisors to President Donald Trump on AI have publicly criticized US AI companies like Anthropic and OpenAI over the release of Kimi, a free open-source AI model from China's Moonshot. The model's availability is creating economic and political challenges for Trump, dividing his AI strategists between those advocating open AI and those supporting government intervention.

A senior Trump administration official and adviser criticized OpenAI's Dean Ball for his views on regulating Chinese AI models, suggesting Ball's comments could benefit OpenAI at the government's expense. Defense under secretary Emil Michael mocked Ball's intelligence and argued against Ball's claims that government agencies blocked Chinese AI through a 'democratic process'. The Pentagon's past adversarial stance toward AI companies like Anthropic raises concerns about potential scrutiny of OpenAI.

The Pentagon is investing $86 million initially (with a total program max of $847 million) in laser weapons to counter drones and cruise missiles, partnering with nLIGHT Defense and Lockheed Martin Aculight. The goal is to scale power from 150kW to 300-500kW for effective missile defense, leveraging lower-cost, high-speed laser technology.

The U.S. Department of Defense reports a 1,775% increase in AI use, with 1.5 million personnel using commercial tools, but adoption remains below 50% of its 3.5 million employees. DOGE's influence and partnerships with tech firms like Google and Microsoft are highlighted, alongside mixed assessments of AI's effectiveness in government operations.

1.5 million Department of Defense workers are using the military's generative AI platform GenAI.mil daily, up from 80,000 users in December 2025. The Pentagon's chief technology officer, Emil Michael, attributed the surge to clearer AI usage guidelines and exposure to commercial AI tools, with workers leveraging the system for tasks like drafting congressional reports and reducing paperwork.

The Pentagon may reduce spending on traditional weapons to invest in low-cost autonomous weapons if reconciliation efforts fail, according to Emil Michael. He stated that trade-offs between expensive systems and affordable drones are being considered.

The Pentagon reorganized six defense innovation units under a single CTO to streamline operations and reduce redundancy. The new structure, led by CTO Emil Michael, consolidates entities like the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) and Strategic Capabilities Office (SCO) into a unified system aimed at improving coordination and efficiency in defense technology procurement.

The U.S. military aims to demonstrate battle-ready laser weapons at scale by 2028, with a focus on overcoming engineering challenges for mass production. The initiative is linked to President Trump's 'Golden Dome for America' missile shield, which allocates significant funding for directed energy research and development.

The U.S. Department of Defense is requesting a $55 billion budget for the Defense Autonomous Warfare Group (DAWG) in 2027, a significant increase from $225 million in 2026, to accelerate development of AI-driven autonomous weapons. Concerns were raised about outdated governance frameworks (DoD 3000.09) and the global AI arms race, particularly with China.

The US Commerce Department announced a $2 billion equity investment across nine quantum computing companies, including IBM ($1 billion) and GlobalFoundries ($375 million). The announcement resulted in significant stock gains for the participating firms, with D-Wave Quantum jumping over 20 percent in trading.

The Trump administration defended its designation of Anthropic as a supply chain risk in federal court, citing national security concerns. The Pentagon claims Anthropic's AI models pose a risk due to the company's 'ideological' views on AI safety. Anthropic argues it has no way to control its AI models once deployed.

The Pentagon's Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, Emil Michael, ruled out reconciliation with Anthropic, an AI company. The decision comes despite the White House softening its tone on the company. Michael emphasized the importance of not relying on a single model.

Pentagon CTO Emil Michael stated that the department is not re-establishing ties with Anthropic, despite interest in Mythos, a cybersecurity model. Agencies are currently evaluating Mythos but not deploying it, complicating the ongoing relationship.

A US defense official, Emil Michael, profited up to $24 million from selling shares in Elon Musk's xAI company after the Pentagon entered an agreement with the firm. The sale occurred despite federal ethics laws prohibiting officials from leveraging their positions for personal financial gain.