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AI and the Future of Warfare with US Under Secretary of War Emil Michael

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Jan 15, 2026

Emil Michael, the Under Secretary for Research and Engineering at the Department of War, dives into AI's transformative role in modern warfare. He reveals plans for GenAI.mil, which reached over a million users swiftly, and discusses shifting military strategies towards hypersonics, directed energy, and autonomous drones. Emil emphasizes rebuilding the defense industrial base, sourcing local tech talent, and fostering collaboration with startups. With insights on the future of defense technology, he highlights the need for resilience and innovation in national security.

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00:00 / 00:00

Unifying Tech Efforts To Move Faster

Emil Michael unified research, DARPA, DIU and strategic capability to reduce duplication and speed tech delivery across the Department of War.
He framed this as using scale and focus to bring products to market faster and avoid wasted spending.

00:00 / 00:00

Limit Priorities And Run Sprints

Cut priorities sharply to focus resources and create clear execution sprints rather than maintaining many 'critical' items.
Use action-oriented sprints to ensure teams wake up knowing what to execute every day.

00:00 / 00:00

Apply Private Models, Don't Rebuild Them

Applied AI is prioritized as an enabler rather than building foundational models inside the Department of War.
The DoW will adapt private-sector models to domain use cases rather than trying to outspend commercial efforts.

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Today’s arms race looks a little different from those of the past. Under the Trump administration, the US Department of War (DoW) is deploying generative AI to millions of employees in order to maintain a strategic edge over our global adversaries. Sarah Guo and Elad Gil sit down with Emil Michael, the Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering of the United States, to discuss the radical technological transformation of the US military. Emil outlines the architecture and launch of GenAI.mil, a DoW internal AI platform powered by Gemini and Grok that reached over one million unique users in its first 30 days. He also highlights critical technology priorities for national security, including hypersonics, direct energy, and autonomous drone swarms. Together, they also explore the urgent need to rebuild the American defense industrial base and end dependency on foreign supply chains for critical materials, as well as how Emil is recruiting the next generation of “fixer-builder” workers to serve their country in government.

Chapters:

00:00 – Cold Open

00:00 – Emil Michael Introduction

00:58 – Emil’s Role at the Department of War

05:22 – Innovation Priorities for the DoW

08:27 – Shift Toward Autonomous Defense Technologies

10:41 – Identifying Common Needs Across the DoW

12:02 – Architecting GenAI.mil

13:48 – Applied AI Initiatives at the DoW

15:57 – The Future of Warfare

17:55 – Recruiting for DoW

19:33 – Arsenal of Freedom Tour

22:25 – Opportunities for Entrepreneurs at DoW

25:49 – Speeding Up and Scaling DoW Initiatives

28:37 – Innovation in Defense Tech

30:00 – Change Management in Government

32:09 – Rebuilding the Defense Industrial Base

37:27 – Initiatives and Opportunities at the Office of Strategic Capital

41:41 – Lessons from Emil’s Government Experience

44:30 – Conclusion