Microsoft pitched DALL·E to military

According to recent reports, Microsoft allegedly pitched OpenAI's DALL-E image generation technology to the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) last year as a potential tool for military applications, including battlefield visualizations[1][2][5].

Key details:

• In an October 2023 presentation titled "Generative AI with DoD Data", Microsoft highlighted to the Pentagon how OpenAI's tools like DALL-E and ChatGPT could be utilized by the military[1][2].
• One proposed use case was employing DALL-E to create images for training battle management systems and helping computers better perceive battlefield conditions, which could aid in target identification[1][2].
• This pitch came after OpenAI had removed its previous prohibition on military use of its AI technologies in early 2023[2][10]. Prior to that, OpenAI's policies explicitly banned the use of tools like DALL-E for "weapons development" and "military and warfare"[10].
• Microsoft, a close partner of OpenAI, is not bound by OpenAI's original mission and policies around ensuring its AI benefits humanity. Microsoft has a history of military contracts[5].
• Both Microsoft and OpenAI have not provided many details on the current status or outcome of this proposal. OpenAI stated it has not directly sold any tools to the DOD[15].

The revelation highlights the growing interest from militaries worldwide in utilizing advanced generative AI capabilities for defense purposes[4][7], while also raising questions about the original intentions and ethical stances of AI companies like OpenAI as their technologies rapidly advance into the mainstream[2][5][10]. Microsoft itself has faced internal concerns from employees about the potential misuse and harmful outputs of its own AI image generation tools[3][9].

Citations:
[1] https://www.theverge.com/2024/4/10/24126672/microsoft-allegedly-pitched-dall-e-to-the-military
[2] https://theintercept.com/2024/04/10/microsoft-openai-dalle-ai-military-use/
[3] https://www.cnbc.com/2024/03/06/microsoft-ai-engineer-says-copilot-designer-creates-disturbing-images.html
[4] https://interestingengineering.com/military/project-maven-the-epicenter-of-us-ai-military-efforts
[5] https://gizmodo.com/microsoft-pitched-us-military-using-azure-openais-dalle-1851401045
[6] https://consent.yahoo.com/v2/collectConsent
[7] https://www.popsci.com/technology/dod-generative-ai-task-force/
[8] https://www.newsbreak.com/news/3398505019297-microsoft-pitched-the-us-military-on-using-azure-openai-s-dall-e-for-battle
[9] https://www.cnbc.com/2024/03/08/microsoft-blocking-terms-that-cause-its-ai-to-create-violent-images.html
[10] https://readwrite.com/openai-removes-ban-on-military-use-of-ai-tools-like-chatgpt/
[11] https://www.reddit.com/r/ArtificialInteligence/comments/1c0ph2b/microsoft_pitched_openais_dalle_as_battlefield/
[12] https://newstimevocc.biz.id/niche/8bya52035P1d09/
[13] https://openai.com/research/dall-e
[14] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39993315
[15] https://elblog.pl/2024/04/10/new-title-the-potential-of-openais-dall-e-in-military-operations/
[16] https://newstral.com/en/article/en/1251921607/microsoft-pitched-openai-s-dall-e-as-battlefield-tool-for-u-s-military
[17] https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/business/microsoft-engineer-sounds-alarm-on-ai-image-generator-to-us-officials-and-c/