As the Pentagon moves to sideline a leading artificial intelligence firm over its refusal to support mass surveillance and autonomous weapons, one of the top officials driving the decision has a multimillion-dollar stake in one of its direct competitors, according to financial disclosures reviewed by the Lever.
This investment, among others, means a Pentagon decisionmaker may have a financial incentive to steer lucrative government contracts toward certain AI firms, even as concerns mount about the risks of artificial intelligence in warfare.
Emil Michael, the Trump administration’s undersecretary of defense for research and engineering and the Pentagon’s chief technology officer, has emerged as a central figure in the decision to blacklist the AI company Anthropic for refusing to allow its algorithms to be used for mass surveillance and certain military objectives.
Left unreported: According to a financial disclosure, Michael, a former Silicon Valley executive, holds millions in stock in an Anthropic competitor, Perplexity AI, as well as additional investments in other AI, cryptocurrency, and robotics companies with business before the Pentagon.
By designating Anthropic a “supply chain risk,” the Pentagon could damage its commercial business and government contracting prospects, benefitting rivals like Perplexity AI.
Michael pledged in his disclosure to not participate in any matters that have “a direct and predictable effect on my financial interests.”
A one-time Uber senior vice president, Michael also recently held investments in the cryptocurrency exchange Binance, whose owner had his 2024 money-laundering conviction pardoned by President Donald Trump last October.
Michael currently holds stock in the prediction market platform Kalshi, which he received as compensation for his prior consulting work there. Both companies have grown massively over the past year after receiving regulatory reprieves from the Trump…
Auteur: Luke Goldstein
