US military to adopt Palantir AI: The United States military is officially adopting Palantir’s Maven artificial intelligence system, a move that aims to boost warfighting capabilities and decision-making. The programme is expected to be fully implemented by September.
‘Palantir AI will become official program of record’
Palantir’s Maven artificial intelligence system will become an official program of record, Deputy Secretary of Defence Steve Feinberg said in a letter to Pentagon leaders, a move that locks in long-term use of Palantir’s weapons-targeting technology across the US military, according to Reuters.
In the March 9 letter to senior Pentagon leaders and US military commanders, Feinberg said embedding Palantir’s Maven Smart System would provide warfighters “with the latest tools necessary to detect, deter, and dominate our adversaries in all domains”. The decision is expected to go into effect by the close of the current fiscal year, which ends in September, according to the letter, which was reviewed by Reuters and has not been previously reported.
What is Maven?
Maven is a command-and-control software platform that analyzes battlefield data and identifies targets. It is already the primary AI operating system for the US military, which has carried out thousands of targeted strikes against Iran over the last three weeks.
Designating Maven as a programme of record will streamline its adoption across all arms of the military and provide stable, long-term funding, Feinberg said. The memo ordered oversight of Maven be moved from the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency to the Pentagon’s Chief Digital Artificial Intelligence Office within 30 days. Future contracting with Palantir will be handled by the Army, the letter said.
The memo ordered oversight of Maven be moved from the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency to the Pentagon’s Chief Digital Artificial Intelligence Office within 30 days. Future contracting with Palantir will be handled by the Army, the letter said.
“It is imperative that we invest now and with focus to deepen the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) across the Joint Force and establish AI-enabled decision-making as the cornerstone of our strategy,” Feinberg wrote.
Palantir and the Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Palantir surges further at Pentagon
Feinberg’s order is a significant win for Palantir, which has landed a growing stream of contracts with the US government, including a deal announced last summer with the US Army worth up to USD 10 billion. Those awards have helped double the company’s stock price in the past year, lifting its market value to nearly USD 360 billion.
Maven can rapidly analyse huge amounts of data from satellites, drones, radars, sensors and intelligence reports, and use AI to automatically identify potential threats or targets, like enemy military vehicles, buildings and weapons stockpiles.
During a presentation at a Palantir event earlier this month, Pentagon official Cameron Stanley, who leads its AI office, demonstrated how the company’s Maven platform could be used for weapons targeting in the Middle East, and he showed heat map screenshots from the Maven platform.
(With inputs from Reuters)
