OpenAI has appointed Daniel Driscoll, the former U.S. Secretary of the Army, as a senior advisor for national security and modernization. Driscoll, who resigned from his government post in August, will focus on integrating artificial intelligence into national security and cybersecurity sectors.
In his new role, Driscoll will collaborate with government, academic, and industry leaders to advance modernization efforts. His mandate includes advising public and private partners on utilizing AI to strengthen national security and promoting the development of AI technologies aligned with democratic principles.
Driscoll became the youngest U.S. Secretary of the Army in history at age 38 in 2025. His appointment follows OpenAI's 2024 policy shift, which lifted the company's previous ban on military applications of its technology.
OpenAI has been actively expanding its defense footprint, including a February agreement to deploy its AI models within classified Department of Defense networks. This move followed the breakdown of a partnership between the Pentagon and competitor Anthropic over autonomous weapons concerns.
