The Pentagon has appointed Gavin Kliger, a computer scientist who previously worked for Elon Musk's government efficiency initiative, as its new Chief Data Officer. Kliger will oversee the alignment and execution of the Department's AI projects, working directly with frontier AI labs to support military operations.
Between October 2024 and January 2025, Kliger's social media activity included amplifying content from white supremacist Nick Fuentes and self-described misogynist Andrew Tate. Neither the Pentagon nor Kliger have commented on the matter.
The appointment comes amid tensions over the Pentagon's AI strategy. The administration recently replaced Anthropic with OpenAI after a dispute over guardrails for military AI tools. The Pentagon also issued a formal supply-chain risk designation against Anthropic, a rare rebuke for a US tech company.
Anthropic had refused to allow its Claude AI to power autonomous weapons or mass surveillance, while the Pentagon insisted it should be able to use the technology as needed, provided it complies with US law.
