The Pentagon rolled out a new artificial intelligence (AI) tool, based on Google’s Gemini for Government. It was developed to handle unclassified information, with a green banner at the top to remind users of what can and can’t be shared from the site.
“I am pleased to introduce GenAI.mil, a secure generative AI platform for every member of the Department of War,” Hegseth wrote in the email.
The Pentagon chief added that it is now “available on the desktops of all military personnel, civilians and contractors.”
Access to the site is available only to personnel with a common access card (CAC) and to those on the DoD’s nonclassified network.
“With this launch, we are taking a giant step toward mass AI adoption across the department,” Hegseth added. “This tool marks the beginning of a new era, where every member of our workforce can be more efficient and impactful.”
The introduction of the Department’s AI tool follows other initiatives undertaken by the Trump administration to integrate AI into the federal government.
“We are moving rapidly to deploy powerful AI capabilities like Gemini for Government directly to our workforce. AI is America’s next manifest destiny, and we’re ensuring that we dominate this new frontier,” said Emil Michael, undersecretary of defense for research and engineering.
Rough Launch
As soon as the platform was officially announced, things went off the rails. On Tuesday, as some users attempted to access the GenAI.mil website, they were greeted with the message, “Upstream connect error or disconnect/reset before headers. reset reason: connection termination.”
The platform cannot be accessed from external networks, which raises the question: why did the Pentagon announce the URL?
There were also reports that even those within the military who could access it weren’t given prior notice and believed it was a spoof attack.
What Does it Do Exactly?
The bigger question is what exactly GenAI.mil can provide to those on the network that other AI chatbots can’t?
“This is the regular Google Gemini dressed up in camouflage,” suggested technology industry analyst Roger Entner of Recon Analytics.
“It’s for everyone, from the Chair Force to the Crayon Eaters,” Entner said candidly in an email to ClearanceJobs.
A Fine First Step
However, the Pentagon remains much like a large business, and, to that end, it may see a need to embrace AI in its workflow.
“This move seems like a fine first step,” explained Dr. Jim Purtilo, associate professor of computer science at the University of Maryland.
He told ClearanceJobs that the Department does need to take several necessary next steps as it embraces AI.
“First, we shouldn’t presume that all three million personnel offered this tool will know right away what to do with it,” Purtilo added. “In effect, the secretary just armed each person in DoD with a loaded gun. As with any powerful weapon in our arsenal, we hope it will be issued along with instructions on how to wield it safely and effectively. Absent that, I think we are in for some surprises.”
Furthermore, there should be an assessment of the tool’s use, including whether the high expectations stated in Secretary Hegseth’s announcement are met.
That includes the pace of AI adoption within the Pentagon and whether leveraging GenAI.mil will improve decision-making and deliver better outcomes.
“Do workers achieve the same results but faster or at less cost?” suggested Purtilo. “How do we measure these things? Effective managers will do more than trust – they’ll verify.”
Next Steps: Training, Testing, and More Capabilities
A significant concern is that AI is trusted too much, with too little verification. This is much like the days of computer programming, when the phrase “garbage in, garbage out” meant that poor-quality input would always result in poor-quality output.
“If not for disciplined quality improvement practices, we might later find we’re taking longer to come up with results whose qualities nobody knows, but everyone accepts just because it came from AI,” Purtilo continued. “In my experience, the more a team relies on AI, the more we must demand of team members’ critical thinking skills in processing the results.”
The need for assessment is real, but nothing is undertaken. Many businesses have adopted AI, but few have realized the promised value.
The Pentagon may offer a substantive case study to distill AI deployment best practices, Purtilo told ClearanceJobs, which would be a missed opportunity if there isn’t a study that examines the effects in detail.
“I’d be the one advising that DOW enrich the tool set with other AI options as well,” Purtilo continued. “As others have correctly asserted in the past, if everyone is thinking alike, then nobody is thinking. The modern version of this is: if everyone outsources their thinking to GenAI.mil, then nobody wins the value of weighing competing ideas across diverse data sources. The Gemini model is good, but it is not the definitive last word.”
