The Pentagon aims to get AI tools to its entire workforce next year, the department's chief technical officer said one month after being given control of its main AI office. “We want to have an AI capability on every desktop — 3 million desktops — in six or nine months,” Emil Michael, defense undersecretary for research and engineering, said at a Politico event on Tuesday. Michael said CDAO will become a research body like the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and Missile Defense Agency. The Pentagon created the CDAO in 2022 to advance the agency’s AI efforts and look into defense applications for emerging technologies. Job cuts within the office added another layer of concern, with reports estimating a 60% reduction in the CDAO workforce.