Former Army secretary heads to OpenAI

Daniel Driscoll speaks during a Senate Armed Services confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill on January 30, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — Former Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll has joined OpenAI as a senior counselor for national security modernization — a newly established role — according to a release from the company and Driscoll’s LinkedIn page .

“National security requirements are changing faster than at any time in the past fifty years. This technology will help them keep pace by cutting through paperwork, making sense of more information, and getting the right answer to the right person faster,” Driscoll said in the company’s announcement Monday evening.

“I’m joining OpenAI to help the United States and our allies put this technology to work responsibly, for the people who keep us safe,” he continued.

In this role, the former 26th secretary of the Army will advise senior leadership and “external partners” on how AI can bolster national security and cybersecurity, with a specific focus on working with US allies to advance the “responsible use” of AI, per the company’s announcement.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said he’s “excited to welcome Dan Driscoll to OpenAI to strengthen American leadership” and help the company work with other countries to “spread the adoption of democratic AI.”

Driscoll joins the company after the Pentagon’s high-profile fight with AI company Anthropic where the military wanted unrestricted access to Anthropic’s Claude model but the company ultimately refused. After months of back and forth, the altercation resulted in the Pentagon shifting its classified network integrations toward other AI providers including OpenAI.

Driscoll resigned from his secretary position in the Army in late August following months of a reported strained relationship with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth . During his tenure as secretary, Driscoll, an Iraq War veteran who has a background in venture capital, prioritized military modernization with efforts such as Operation Jailbreak , the sprawling Army Transformation Initiative , the low-cost interceptor program and more.

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According to his LinkedIn page, in between his stint as secretary and his new role at OpenAI, Driscoll served as an advisor at counter-drone company Perennial Autonomy and a public affairs firm Watchtower Strategy.

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2025年1月30日，丹尼尔·德里斯科尔在华盛顿特区国会山举行的参议院军事委员会确认听证会上发表讲话。（图片来源：Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images）

华盛顿——据 OpenAI 公司发布的消息和 Driscoll 的 LinkedIn 页面显示，前陆军部长 Dan Driscoll 已加入 OpenAI，担任国家安全现代化高级顾问——这是一个新设立的职位。

“国家安全需求的变化速度比过去五十年来的任何时候都要快。这项技术将帮助他们跟上时代步伐，减少文书工作，更好地理解更多信息，并更快地将正确的答案传递给正确的人，”德里斯科尔在周一晚间公司发布的公告中表示。

“我加入 OpenAI 是为了帮助美国及其盟友负责任地运用这项技术，为那些保护我们安全的人们服务，”他继续说道。

根据该公司的公告，这位前第 26 任陆军部长将担任此职，就人工智能如何加强国家安全和网络安全向高级领导层和“外部合作伙伴”提供建议，尤其侧重于与美国盟友合作，推进人工智能的“负责任使用”。

OpenAI 首席执行官 Sam Altman 表示，他“很高兴欢迎 Dan Driscoll 加入 OpenAI，以加强美国的领导地位”，并帮助公司与其他国家合作，“推广民主人工智能的应用”。

在五角大楼与人工智能公司Anthropic发生备受瞩目的争端后，德里斯科尔加入了该公司。军方希望不受限制地使用Anthropic的Claude模型，但该公司最终拒绝了这一请求。经过数月的拉锯战，这场冲突最终导致五角大楼将其机密网络集成转向了包括OpenAI在内的其他人工智能供应商。

据报道，德里斯科尔与国防部长皮特·赫格塞斯的关系紧张数月后，于8月下旬辞去了陆军部长一职。德里斯科尔曾参加过伊拉克战争，并拥有风险投资背景。在他担任陆军部长期间，他优先推进军事现代化，推行了“越狱行动”、规模庞大的“陆军转型计划”、低成本拦截器项目等一系列举措。

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根据他的 LinkedIn 页面显示，在担任秘书和在 OpenAI 担任新职务之间，Driscoll 曾担任反无人机公司 Perennial Autonomy 和公共事务公司 Watchtower Strategy 的顾问。

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