New US military GenAI tool ‘critical first step’ in future of warfare, says expert

Military expert gives insight on the Department of War’s new AI tool Military expert Emelia Probasco gives insight on the new "GenAI" tool recently announced by Secretary of War Pete Hegseth. The recently launched "GenAI" tool for U.S. service members and Department of War workers is a "critical first step" in the future of warfare, according to a military expert. This month, the Pentagon announced the launch of GenAI.mil, a military-focused AI platform powered by Google Gemini. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said the platform is designed to give U.S. military personnel direct access to AI tools to help "revolutioniz[e] the way we win." On Monday, the Department of War also announced that the Pentagon is further integrating Elon Musk’s xAI Grok family of models into the GenAI platform, allowing employees to use xAI safely on secure government systems for routine work, including tasks involving sensitive but unclassified information. In an interview with Fox News Digital, Emelia Probasco, a Navy veteran, former Pentagon official and senior fellow at Georgetown University’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology, explained that the tool will help train Department of War service members and civilians on the use of artificial intelligence in their everyday workflow, preparing them for further integration of AI in military matters. WAR DEPARTMENT REFOCUSES ON AI, HYPERSONICS AND DIRECTED ENERGY IN MAJOR STRATEGY OVERHAUL War Secretary Pete Hegseth listens as President Donald Trump speaks during a Cabinet meeting at the White House, on Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025. (Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP) Probasco said the tool will have a "big impact" on the everyday functioning of the Department of War. "Prior to the rollout of this new website and having Gemini 3 available to the force, folks were either using sort of a tool that wasn't as capable ... or even worse, they were sort of going to their home computers and trying to do various things on their home computers, which they're not supposed to do, but it was probably happening," Probasco explained. "Now they've got a more secure environment where they can experiment with these tools and really start to learn what they're good for and what they're not good for." While Probasco said she does not believe the tools, such as the GenAI platform, "fully changes war," she thinks "it's the critical first step in training so that we know how to use it well." She said that the Department of War has "made it very clear in the past year that they want to forge ahead and be innovative and try new things and adopt AI." The GenAI tool, Probasco said, gives the department a type of sandbox to experiment with for still bigger innovations to come. FOX NEWS AI NEWSLETTER: HEGSETH MOVES TO REVOLUTIONIZE AMERICAN WARFIGHTING U.S. troops alight from a U.S. Army CH-47 as it lands at the Philippines' northernmost town of Itbayat during a joint military exercise. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila) "There are responsible people in the department who are trying to figure out what is the...

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