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Emil Michael

Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering, Us Department Of War

Search every verified Emil Michael interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. Emil Michael, Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering and Chief Technology Officer at the Department of Defense, has recently discussed the department's technology priorities and AI policy in several public appearances. In October 2026, he commented on Anduril's up to $2.9 billion contract with the U.S. Navy, describing it as part of "Project Meridian," an initiative he said is focused on the future of warfare. He also addressed conflict-of-interest questions regarding contractors advising the government, stating that the project is run by a nonprofit and that he believes recent public concerns about AI involved "scare tactics" that may have been influenced by foreign actors. In September 2026, he spoke at a Y Combinator event and a panel on the defense industrial base, where he advocated for shortening qualification and certification timelines for new suppliers and emphasized the need for domestic production at scale, citing lessons from drone warfare in Ukraine. Michael has also weighed in on AI safety and regulation debates. In a September 2026 CNBC interview, he said he does not support government stakes in or nationalization of AI companies, arguing instead that companies should invest in safety measures and that open-source models will impact the marketplace. He characterized some AI safety advocacy as a "coordinated campaign to scare people" that benefits incumbent firms, and expressed skepticism about transnational AI governance regimes proposed by some industry leaders. He also discussed the department's focus on six critical technology areas and efforts to attract commercial technology providers and private capital to close gaps between commercial innovation and military deployment.

Recent appearances

  • Pentagon CTO on Anthropic, AI Safety and 'Super Intelligence'

    October 19, 2026 · 📺 The Information

    Under Secretary of War Emil Michael sits down with The Information's Co-Executive Editor Amir Efrati and Tech and Politics Reporter Leo Schwartz to explain AI and the military, the government's clash with Anthropic, and more. He also breaks down the dangers of AI models overriding human military commanders, how the government could enforce AI safety rules, and what's at stake in the AI race with China. Subscribe: https://www.theinformation.com/subscribe The Information’s TITV airs weekdays on YouTube, X and LinkedIn at 10AM PT / 1PM ET. Or check us out wherever you get your podcasts. Follo…

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  • Watch CNBC's full interview with Pentagon's Emil Michael

    October 06, 2026 · 📺 CNBC Television

    Emil Michael, Under Secretary for Research and Engineering and Chief Technology Officer for the Department of Defense, joins ‘Squawk on the Street’ to discuss Anduril winning an up to $2.9 billion contract with the U.S. Navy, working with ‘Super Intelligence Force’, AI safety concerns, and more.

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  • The Startup Industrial Base: Building for the Next 250 — Washington, D.C.

    September 30, 2026 · 📺 YC Root Access

    The defense industrial base of the future will be built by small, fast-moving teams working on some of the hardest problems in national security. Live from Washington, D.C., Y Combinator brings together founders, senior government officials, and military leaders for a day of conversations about rebuilding America’s defense industrial base, working with the government, and closing critical capability gaps across autonomy, munitions, space, secure communications, manufacturing, and more. Full event agenda here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1R... 0:00- Livestream begins 10:56 - Intro 13:…

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  • Capital, Technology, and the Future of the Defense Industrial Base

    September 25, 2026 · 📺 U.S. Small Business Administration

    Panelists: Administrator Kelly Loeffler; Emil Michael - Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering and Department of War CTO; Kyle Bass – Founder and Co-Chief, Rochefort Asset Management Moderator: Josh Carter – Associate Administrator, SBA Office of Investment & Innovation

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  • Keynote Session: Under Secretary for Research & Engineering HON. Emil Michael

    September 18, 2026 · 📺 Emerging Technologies Institute

    The Department of War is undergoing one of the most significant technology and acquisition transformations in decades, narrowing its focus to six critical technology areas and pushing to move capabilities from prototype to fielded systems at unprecedented speed. This session explores the Department's efforts to attract new commercial technology providers, private capital, and close the gap between commercial innovation and military deployment. Attendees will gain practical insight into how nontraditional and commercial technology companies can better align with service mission gaps, defense in…

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  • Watch CNBC's full interview with Department of Defense Under Secretary Emil Michael

    September 16, 2026 · 📺 CNBC Television

    Emil Michael, Department of Defense CTO, joins 'Squawk on the Street' to discuss the ongoing debate around AI safety and regulation. For access to live and exclusive video from CNBC subscribe to CNBC PRO: https://cnb.cx/42d859g » Subscribe to CNBC TV: https://cnb.cx/SubscribeCNBCtelevision » Subscribe to CNBC: https://cnb.cx/SubscribeCNBC » Watch CNBC on the go with CNBC+: https://www.cnbc.com/WatchCNBCPlus Turn to CNBC TV for the latest stock market news and analysis. From market futures to live price updates CNBC is the leader in business news worldwide. Connect with CNBC News Online Get…

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  • America’s $700 Billion Defense Tech Rebuild

    July 24, 2026 · 📺 Joe Lonsdale

    Joe Lonsdale talks to Emil Michael, Shyam Sankar and Kevin Mandida about the integration of AI into national defense, exploring the future of autonomous warfare and the protection of critical infrastructure. Joe Lonsdale is an American entrepreneur, investor & philanthropist. He has been a part of founding more than a dozen mission-driven companies, including Palantir, Addepar, OpenGov, Affinity, Epirus, Resilience Bio, and 8VC. Timestamps 00:00 The Modern Threat Environment 02:16 Private Sector vs Government Roles 04:29 AI and Humans in the Loop 10:19 Six Critical Defense Technologies 15:03…

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  • Winning the Innovation Competition

    June 12, 2026 · 📺 Hudson Institute

    Today’s wars in Ukraine and the Middle East show how adaptation is becoming the central military competition. The side that can field new tactical or technical innovations faster gains an advantage and can impose compounding costs on enemy forces. To win this competition, the United States Department of War implemented a new strategy to accelerate new capabilities by better leveraging the private sector and focusing government research where it is uniquely needed. These changes are beginning to bear fruit on the battlefield. Artificial intelligence is arguably the Pentagon’s top technology p…

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  • Scaling AI for National Security: A Conversation with Under Secretary Emil Michael

    May 15, 2026 · 📺 eMerge Americas

    The Department of War is accelerating the deployment of artificial intelligence at an unprecedented pace, moving from pilot programs to mission-wide integration across defense operations. In this Main Stage conversation, Under Secretary Emil Michael is joined by Stephen Winchell of DARPA and moderator Francis X. Suarez to discuss how the Department’s AI Acceleration Strategy is advancing national security capabilities. The discussion will explore the role of DARPA in pioneering breakthrough technologies, partnerships with frontier AI companies, and the contributions of the Defense Innovation U…

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  • Warfighting Technologies at 300 | The Honorable Emil Michael

    May 14, 2026 · 📺 Special Competitive Studies Project

    What happens when the speed of tech innovation becomes the deciding factor on the battlefield? In this session from The 2026 Exchange, the Honorable Emil Michael (Undersecretary of War for Research and Engineering) joins David Sanger (NYT) to discuss the radical shift in warfighting technologies. From the lessons learned in the Ukraine-Russia conflict to the integration of generative AI in military defense, we explore how the Department of War is adapting to a new era of high-speed innovation. Timestamps: 0:00 - Introduction 1:55 - Lessons from Ukraine: Drones and Counter-Drone Tech 4:15 - B…

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  • Pentagon CTO Emil Michael: Anthropic is still blacklisted, but Mythos is a separate issue

    May 01, 2026 · 📺 CNBC Television

    Emil Michael, Department of Defense chief technology officer, joins 'Squawk Box' to discuss the Pentagon's deal with top AI leaders to deploy their AI capabilities on the Defense Department's most secure and classified networks, Anthropic's relationship with the DoD and the White House, and more. For access to live and exclusive video from CNBC subscribe to CNBC PRO: https://cnb.cx/42d859g » Subscribe to CNBC TV: https://cnb.cx/SubscribeCNBCtelevision » Subscribe to CNBC: https://cnb.cx/SubscribeCNBC » Watch CNBC on the go with CNBC+: https://www.cnbc.com/WatchCNBCPlus Turn to CNBC TV for th…

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  • The Pentagon's AI Plan + Behind the Anthropic Fight — With Under Secretary of War Emil Michael

    April 15, 2026 · 📺 Alex Kantrowitz

    Emil Michael is the Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering at the Pentagon. Michael joins Big Technology to discuss how AI is transforming the Department of War, from targeting systems to drone warfare to cyber defense. Tune in to hear his account of why the Pentagon designated Anthropic a supply chain risk, what actually happened in the contract negotiations, and whether the decision was wise. We also cover how the military's Maven Smart System works in practice, what the U.S. learned from drone warfare in Ukraine and Iran, and whether the Pentagon Pizza Index is credible. Hit pl…

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Verified interview transcripts

Notable quotes

“If intelligence gives you multiple legs up on your adversary, whoever that adversary is, well then you could actually have it as a deterrent to a conflict. And there's a reason why we have the intelligence community. The intelligence community takes satellite photos. It does all kinds of different things. Imagine if you added super intelligence to that intelligence agency, the things they can understand about what th”

“Here is my very succinct view on this, which is if you don't want humans to lose control, you can't give models the control over humans. And that whole notion that a model has feelings and it can overrule the founders of a company is by definition loss of control. They are saying, 'We want to lose control to something that may be smarter than us or have a conscious or may be more moral than us and have a conscious to”

“It's more about looking toward future risk, but and future opportunity. And the thing is that there was a lot of scare tactics that have been perpetrated in the last few weeks, potentially with some foreign influence that sort of scared the American people. You see how this polls, and the idea is to make sure that American people understand that AI can work for them, can support their goals, and to make sure that we'”

“We are much better than innovating on military technology. The thing that we also have to get better at is the ability to produce at scale. And you can see countries like Ukraine were able to produce drones at scale. So it is possible, but you have to have a little bit more of a wartime footing. And that's what Secretary Hegseth and President Trump have put us on, which is have the domestic capability to produce thin”

“Yeah, I mean it was and maybe every administration says this, but when I when we got in there, the sheer neglect of what was happening was was staggering. It was neglect on critical minerals, neglect on the supply chain, neglect on ship building things we'd already spent money on, neglect. We canceled hypersonic missiles. We cancelled I mean there was just an an allergy to business. Um an allergy to AI and technologi”

“I mean it was an extraordinary collection of really some of the if not all of the country's most important technology leaders um from Jensen to Elon to uh to to open AI's leadership anthropics leadership um Google I mean it was really a collection of people who are are really going to drive the super intelligence race for the country and essentially for the world given where the United States is and to get them to ag”

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