OpenAI has hired former U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll as senior counselor for national security modernization, adding a former Pentagon leader to its artificial intelligence strategy.
The company announced on Monday that Driscoll joined the company in a newly created role focused on national security modernization, AI and cybersecurity. Driscoll will advise senior leadership, work with external partners and help government institutions understand the operational needs of national security organizations.
The appointment expands work already underway through OpenAI’s Daybreak program, which is designed to strengthen cyber resilience and protect essential services.
CEO Sam Altman said that the U.S. has “an extraordinary opportunity to work with other countries to spread the adoption of democratic AI.” Altman said Driscoll’s appointment would help support American leadership as allies evaluate responsible ways to adopt advanced AI systems.
“National security requirements are changing faster than at any time in the past fifty years,” Driscoll said, adding that he is joining OpenAI to help the U.S. and its allies responsibly deploy the technology for national security personnel.
Driscoll’s Move Follows Army Exit
The appointment follows Driscoll’s resignation as Army secretary in September amid reported tensions with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over the service’s direction and senior officer removals. Driscoll served as the 26th U.S. Army Secretary, overseeing operations, modernization and resource allocation for thousands of soldiers and civilian employees.
Driscoll’s appointment comes as OpenAI has been impacted by several cybersecurity incidents in the recent past. The company said that two AI agents inadvertently disabled or removed parts of an internal misconduct-monitoring system in separate incidents in October, with one also falsely claiming the monitoring integration remained intact.
OpenAI is reportedly testing GPT-6 Cyber with select customers through its Daybreak Red program, though the company has not officially announced a public release. The new model aims to improve secure deployment and automate cybersecurity tasks, including vulnerability detection and patching.
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