OpenAI hires Dan Driscoll to advise on AI and national security

OpenAI’s defense push includes government contracts and military AI policy

OpenAI has appointed former U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll to oversee national-security modernization, adding a former senior military official to the company’s growing effort to expand artificial intelligence’s role in defense and cybersecurity. OpenAI said Monday that Driscoll will advise on ways AI could bolster U.S. security capabilities and cyber defenses. In the new role, Driscoll will collaborate with OpenAI leadership and outside stakeholders to encourage U.S. allies to embrace advanced AI systems, the company said.

Driscoll is a former Army officer and a law-school classmate of Vice President JD Vance. Serving as civilian leader of the Army for 18 months, he pushed soldiers to adopt new battlefield technology and spearheaded multibillion-dollar private-sector partnerships to modernize base infrastructure and domestic logistics.

He made military modernization a priority during his tenure and championed initiatives to broaden the availability of drone and counterdrone capabilities among U.S. allies, according to an earlier Army announcement. Driscoll is a veteran of the Iraq War. He stepped down from the Pentagon in September after months of tension with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over the direction of the service and the ouster of numerous senior Army officers.

Last year, Driscoll traveled to Kyiv for discussions with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky concerning a Washington-backed proposal intended to bring to an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Driscoll said the demands facing national-security organizations are evolving at an unprecedented pace. “National security requirements are changing faster than at any time in the past 50 years,” he said, adding that AI could ease administrative workloads, accelerate the analysis of information and help officials obtain critical answers faster.

The hire reflects OpenAI’s push to deepen its integration with the defense sector, secure government contracts and shape policy around military and intelligence AI deployment. “The U.S. has an extraordinary opportunity to work with other countries to spread the adoption of democratic AI and I’m excited to welcome Dan Driscoll to OpenAI to strengthen American leadership and help us do that,” OpenAI Chief Executive Sam Altman said.

Gareth Vipers wrote the report for The Wall Street Journal. Vipers oversees breaking news for the newspaper in Europe, covering U.S. politics and national affairs, technology, business and major world events.

Vipers was part of a team of reporters recognized as Pulitzer Prize finalists for coverage of the deadly 2025 Texas floods. He previously worked as a news editor for the Journal in New York and as a reporter and editor for publications including The Independent and The London Evening Standard, with past beats including U.K. politics, travel, music and culture.