Microsoft pitched using OpenAI's DALL-E for military software development

Microsoft pitched to the Department of Defense using OpenAI’s DALL-E to help build software for military operations, according to internal presentation materials. The Pentagon is interested in using AI tools for tasks ranging from document analysis to machine maintenance.

DALL-E could be used to generate images to train battle management systems, which provide military leaders with a situational overview of a combat scenario. This might help Pentagon systems to better recognize targets on the battlefield.

Microsoft said in a statement that it had pitched to the Pentagon to use DALL-E to train its battlefield software but had not begun doing so. OpenAI said it was not involved in the Microsoft pitch and that it had not sold any tools to the Department of Defense. This comes after when, in January, OpenAI started partnering with US defense, just days after changes in “military and warfare” policy.

Experts say that using AI-generated images to train military software could have drawbacks. The accuracy of a model can deteriorate when it is further trained on AI-generated content. But things are only getting better; the AI is getting better, and so is AI-generated content, including images.

The Department of Defense (DoD) said its mission is to accelerate the adoption of data, analytics, and AI across the DoD. It is teaching its workforce how to apply existing and emerging commercial technologies to DoD mission areas.

Experts say that contributing to the development of a battle management system would place OpenAI’s military work far closer to warfare itself. It’s difficult to imagine a battle whose primary purpose isn’t causing harm.

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