Emil Michael on AI Vendor Lock-in and Military Deployment Strategy
Emil Michael, Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, discusses critical vulnerabilities in DoD AI contracts including vendor lock-in risks, restrictive terms of service, and the need for multi-vendor strategies. He argues that democratic oversight and lawful authority must dictate military AI use, not vendor terms, while addressing bureaucratic barriers to technology deployment.
Metrics in this report
1000count
approximately
Valuable researchers trading amongst frontier AI companies
3000000people
directly
Department of War personnel affected by AI policy decisions
2000000000$
minimum
Additional cost in change orders for failed implementations
3years
minimum
Additional development time for cost-plus contract failures
4count
identified
Companies capable of serving national security with frontier AI models
1000count
typical
Traditional DoD requirements per RFP document
350000000people
indirectly
US citizens affected by defense AI deployment decisions