OpenAI Recruits Ex-Army Secretary Dan Driscoll for National Security Push

OpenAI has a new face for its defense-facing work. The company hired former US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll as senior counselor for national security modernization, per a Cointelegraph report. The announcement came with an urgent tone — this is a now-or-never moment in the AI-military relationship.

The timing is the story. The armed forces are looking to expand how they use artificial intelligence, and OpenAI just parked a former service chief in the middle of that conversation. Driscoll's title points squarely at modernization, the catch-all term for dragging legacy systems into the AI era.

For OpenAI, the hire signals that the government and defense lane is no longer a side project. The company behind ChatGPT has been steadily courting Washington, and bringing in a former Army Secretary puts a known quantity in the room when policy and procurement talks heat up.

Details beyond the role title are thin so far. Cointelegraph's report does not say when Driscoll starts, what he'll be paid, or exactly which programs he'll touch. What's clear is the direction: OpenAI wants a seat at the national security table, and it's staffing up to get one.

Expect the move to draw both applause and side-eye. Defense work is a live wire in the AI world, with employee pushback and ethical debates never far behind. OpenAI is betting that a familiar Pentagon name smooths the path.