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Pentagon Unveils Aggressive Military AI Strategy
Concerns raised over potential for bias, privacy violations, and environmental impact
Published on Feb. 7, 2026
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In a speech at SpaceX headquarters, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth outlined the U.S. military's new Artificial Intelligence strategy, which aims to make the armed forces an "AI-first warfighting force across all domains." The plan includes the rollout of a generative AI model called genai.mil for all 3 million Department of War employees, raising fears about the potential for bias, privacy violations, and environmental damage from the required computing infrastructure.
Why it matters
The military's AI push represents a concerning shift towards increased automation and autonomy in warfare, with little oversight or accountability. There are worries that the AI models could be designed with biases, and that the aggressive pursuit of "AI dominance" could lead to reckless disregard for human rights and environmental protections.
The details
Hegseth outlined plans to "remove red tape" and "blow up bureaucratic barriers" to rapidly deploy AI across military intelligence, operations, and enterprise functions. This includes exempting data center infrastructure from environmental regulations. The military is partnering with tech giants like Google, Amazon, and Microsoft to build these data centers on military bases and national lab sites, raising concerns about their massive energy and resource demands.
- Hegseth's speech took place on February 7, 2026.
- The genai.mil AI model was launched just last month for all 3 million Department of War employees.
- Executive Order 14318, exempting data centers from environmental regulations, was signed by President Trump in July 2025.
The players
Pete Hegseth
Secretary of War, who outlined the military's new AI strategy in his speech.
Elon Musk
CEO of SpaceX, who appeared alongside Hegseth to discuss "making Star Trek real" through space exploration.
Google Gemini
The AI model that was used to develop the initial version of genai.mil.
xAI's Grok
An AI model that will soon be incorporated into genai.mil, which previously exhibited concerning biases after Elon Musk claimed to remove "political correctness" and "wokeness" from it.
Aaron Kirshenbaum
CODEPINK's War is Not Green Campaigner, who documents the negative environmental impacts of data centers.
What they’re saying
“We will not employ AI models that won't allow you to fight wars.”
— Pete Hegseth, Secretary of War
“For every science fiction narrative about a new technological means for violence and oppression, there's another about what happens when the people suffering under the machine finally unite together to smash it, and take the future back for themselves.”
— Gerry Canavan, Professor of English, Marquette University
What’s next
The judge in the case will decide on Tuesday whether or not to allow Walker Reed Quinn out on bail.
The takeaway
This case highlights growing concerns in the community about repeat offenders released on bail, raising questions about bail reform, public safety on SF streets, and if any special laws to govern autonomous vehicles in residential and commercial areas.
