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By Alice Gibbs

Senior Reporter

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A Pentagon social-media post promoting the military's growing use of artificial intelligence (AI) caused confusion online after a photograph appeared to show an AI agent being asked to help "create a war."

The image was included in an X post by the Department of Defense Chief Technology Office highlighting a recent deployment of its GenAI Task Force at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii. According to the post, the team built more than 20 custom AI agents for sailors and helped automate tasks including operational reporting and briefing preparation.

One of the photos showed a laptop displaying a Google Gemini interface with a prompt that appeared to begin: "I NEED HELP BUILDING AN AGENT TO CREATE A WAR [...]."

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A Department of Defense official told Newsweek that the prompt referred to a "Weekly Action Report" (WAR), a standard document used throughout the department to summarize weekly accomplishments. The official said the image showed a warfighter using GenAI.mil to create an agent for generating the report.

The image caption identified the person using the system as U.S. Navy Lt. Cmdr. Brandon Mizuhara, assigned to U.S. Pacific Fleet, and said the photograph was taken on July 21. The caption stated Mizuhara was building an AI agent during a GenAI.mil Task Force training event and said the program is helping "systematically remove barriers to AI adoption to ensure a more lethal Department of War."

"Department of War" is the Trump administration's preferred name for the Department of Defense, though Congress has not yet formally approved the renaming.

Before the Pentagon provided additional context, the image drew attention on X, where some users questioned why an AI system appeared to be receiving instructions to "create a war," while others joked about the wording. Several users suggested the phrase could refer to a "WAR" acronym commonly used in military and workplace settings, including as shorthand for a Weekly Action Report.

The Pentagon's post emphasized the military's efforts to integrate AI into operational environments, describing the technology as a tool to help warfighters act faster and improve decision-making.

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Pentagon Pushes AI Into Military Operations

The image comes as the Pentagon accelerates its use of AI across military, intelligence and administrative functions.

The Defense Department's Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office says its mission is to speed up adoption of data, analytics and AI "from the boardroom to the battlefield" to give U.S. forces a decision advantage. Its listed priorities include advancing deterrence, reducing bureaucracy and helping create an "AI-first" warfighting force.

In January, the Department of Defense announced an AI Acceleration Strategy intended to expand military AI deployment across warfighting, intelligence and enterprise operations. The department said the strategy would support more than 3 million personnel and focus on seven "Pace-Setting Projects," including AI-enabled battle management, simulation tools, intelligence-to-capability development and enterprise AI agents.

One of those projects, called Agent Network, is described by the department as an effort to "unleash" AI agent development and experimentation for battle management and decision support, ranging from campaign planning to "kill chain execution." Another, GenAI.mil, is intended to provide department-wide access to frontier generative AI models, including Google's Gemini and xAI's Grok, for personnel at certain classification levels.

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What Is GenAI.mil?

GenAI.mil is one of the Pentagon's most visible efforts to put generative AI tools directly into the hands of military and civilian personnel.

The CDAO describes GenAI.mil as an enterprise project that gives personnel access to leading AI models so they can experiment with and transform military workflows.

The Pentagon has described generative AI as having potential uses in both operational and administrative settings. A 2024 executive summary from Task Force Lima, which was established in 2023 to study and guide generative AI use across the department, said there were "widespread opportunities" for operational and administrative applications.

The Defense Department has also developed guidance for generative AI use. In December 2024, the CDAO launched a GenAI Toolkit designed to help project leaders assess responsible and safe design, development, deployment and use of the technology. The office said the toolkit supported implementation of guidance for governing generative AI and addressing risks associated with the technology.

Earlier this year, Anthropic examined how AI systems are already being used by the U.S. military for intelligence analysis, planning and other support functions as defense agencies experiment with increasingly advanced models. In April, the Defense Department was weighing broader use of Google's Gemini models after Anthropic pulled back from some military applications.

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Trump's AI Agenda Includes the Pentagon

The screenshot also comes during a broader Trump administration push to expand federal use of artificial intelligence.

In July 2025, the White House released "America's AI Action Plan," which described AI leadership as both an economic and national security priority. The plan called for accelerating AI adoption across government and included a specific section on driving adoption within the Department of Defense.

The White House said the plan contained more than 90 federal policy actions across three areas: accelerating innovation, building AI infrastructure and leading in international diplomacy and security. It also said the administration would update procurement guidance so the federal government contracts with frontier AI developers whose systems meet administration standards.

President Donald Trump has also publicly embraced AI-generated in his own life, regularly sharing AI-created images on social media. Earlier this week, he posted an AI-generated image depicting himself traveling through time to save George Washington, one of several AI-themed posts that have appeared on his accounts.

In June 2026, the White House said Trump had signed a national security directive intended to put advanced, secure AI systems in the hands of U.S. warfighters and intelligence professionals while preserving accountability through the constitutional chain of command.

Not everyone has welcomed the Pentagon's AI push. In March, protesters planted AI-themed robot signs on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., criticizing OpenAI's decision to permit the Defense Department to use its AI technology. The demonstration reflected broader concerns among some activists and researchers about the growing role of artificial intelligence in military planning, intelligence and battlefield operations.

Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Daniel Orton and Emma Lee-Sang

Update 07/29/26 10:50 a.m. ET: This story was updated with additional information from the Pentagon.

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