Microsoft wants the US military to 'add' ChatGPT, DALL-E to its arsenal

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Microsoft reportedly pitched the use of generative AI to the US Department of Defence. According to a report by The Intercept,  Microsoft made a presentation — “Generative AI with DoD Data — and pitched how the Pentagon could use OpenAI’s generative AI tools, including ChatGPT and image generator DALL-E.

According to the report, one of the slides in Microsoft’s presentation showcased how DALL-E models could be used to create images to train battle management systems. The AI-generated images created by DALL-E could help the US military to see and analyse conditions on the battlefield. Last year, Microsoft held a training seminar on “AI Literacy” for the US Space Force.

The report by Intercept also quotes a Microsoft spokesperson who confirmed that the pitch was made but the US DoD hadn’t started using AI tools.“This is an example of potential use cases that was informed by conversations with customers on the art of the possible with generative AI,” Microsoft said in an email statement shared with The Intercept.

Interestingly, OpenAI spokesperson said that the company was not a part of Microsoft’s pitch. Liz Bourgeous told The Intercept, “OpenAI’s policies prohibit the use of our tools to develop or use weapons, injure others or destroy property. We were not involved in this presentation and have not had conversations with US defence agencies regarding the hypothetical use cases it describes.”

Microsoft, on the other hand, has had a lot of contracts with the US Department of Defence. According to the report, the DoD didn’t comment on Microsoft’s presentation but said that “the [Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office’s] mission is to accelerate the adoption of data, analytics, and AI across DoD. As part of that mission, we lead activities to educate the workforce on data and AI literacy, and how to apply existing and emerging commercial technologies to DoD mission areas.”

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