Pentagon technology chief says the government will detail the laws that apply to AI labs this month

The US government will lay out all the laws and regulations that apply to domestic AI labs later this month, Pentagon Chief Technology Officer Emil Michael said on Wednesday^1,5. Michael, who is vice chair of the government’s Super Intelligence Task Force, said the group would publicize the rules³.

Michael announced that the government will outline all laws and regulations for domestic AI labs later this month⁴. He also explained why the Pentagon deems Anthropic a supply-chain risk².

Michael is vice chair of the government’s Super Intelligence Task Force^1,3. He said the government would set out all the laws and regulations that apply to domestic AI labs⁵.

Why it matters to investors

The Pentagon believes Anthropic cannot work in the sensitive ways the department wants to work, according to Michael’s explanation of the supply-chain designation^2,6. That stance bears on which AI companies can win defence work.

A single public list of the laws that govern AI labs^1,4 would give investors in AI companies a clearer view of the legal framework those labs operate under, coming from the vice chair of a federal task force on superintelligence³.

Michael’s comments on warfare point to where defence spending is heading. He said the United States could not imagine drone warfare before the Ukraine conflict⁷, and credited Ukraine for doing some incredibly creative things with drone technology in the war with Russia⁷.

He said the United States helped Ukrainians a great deal in fighting Russia, but that they invented new approaches themselves⁸. A project named Project Meridian has been tasked with examining what future warfare will look like⁸.

What to watch

The timing is the first test. Michael said the rules would be detailed this month^1,5, so investors will watch for the task force’s publication³.

The treatment of Anthropic is a second marker. Investors will watch how the supply-chain designation² is applied to Anthropic’s work with the government⁶.

The conclusions of Project Meridian on future warfare⁸, and the Pentagon’s lessons from drone use in Ukraine⁷, are further markers for defence technology spending.

The rules for domestic AI labs⁴ and the Pentagon’s view of Anthropic² will be read together by companies that sell AI to the government.