White House Calls for More AI Adoption in National Security

Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning , Next-Generation Technologies & Secure Development White House Calls for More AI Adoption in National Security Directs Agencies to Expand Commercial Access, Recruit Non-Gov Experts Greg Sirico • June 9, 2026     Credit Eligible Get Permission Image: Shutterstock The Trump administration's directed the military and intelligence agencies Friday to accelerate advanced artificial intelligence adoption while reducing barriers to deployment. See Also: Edge Transformation: Top 5 SASE Predictions and Trends The order, contained in a national security presidential memorandum, marks the latest effort by the administration to move the needle on government adoption of commercial and open-source AI models. It blames "undue bureaucracy" for a slower-than-desired pace of uptake as well as "dangerous dependencies" on single vendor solutions. The Department of Defense in early March blacklisted AI mainstay Anthropic in a fight about using the Claude model for domestic surveillance and in autonomous weapons - a decision that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth reaffirmed earlier this month (see: DoD Says No to Anthropic Request for Reversing Blacklisting). The memo calls on government leaders to deepen partnerships with private sector developers and produce improved protections for frontier models and the infrastructures that house them. The White House's new approach is intended to give U.S. military forces and national defense agencies a technological edge over "any and all" foreign adversaries "while safeguarding the constitutional chain of command." Organized around four pillars - adoption, adaptation, assurance and accountability - the directive calls on national security agencies such as the FBI, CIA, the Department of Homeland Security and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence to expand access to AI models from multiple vendors while collaborating with industry and academic experts. The administration also instructed officials to establish an AI National Security Strategic Reserve, recruiting a roster of non-governmental private sector and academic AI experts to weigh in on emerging security challenges surrounding AI usage. The memo established a series of deadlines for implementation. Within 90 days, Hegseth must update the Pentagon's directive for governance around autonomous weapons systems to reflect advances in AI capabilities and their growing application in military operations while maintaining human oversight in decisions requiring the use of force. Additionally, within 120 days, agency heads must collaborate to develop a baseline AI standard across the national security enterprise and "initiate joint AI data and model exchanges," partnering with AI vendors to protect models from cyberespionage, theft and cyberattacks. The memorandum follows an executive order signed earlier this month which established a voluntary framework that allows for federal review ofadvanced AI systems prior to public release (see: Trump Signs Voluntary AI Cyber Review Order).