Reference register
Who's Who in AI Warfare
A working register of the operators, architects, theorists and witnesses shaping AI in modern warfare.
A reference register, not a ranking. Entries here are the people we keep coming back to as we cover the field — the officers running the programmes, the executives selling the software, the academics writing the doctrine, the journalists getting it on the record. The list grows when our coverage does.
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architect Palantir Technologies (2003-)
Alex Karp
Co-founder and CEO of Palantir Technologies; outspoken advocate for software in the kill chain.
- defense tech ceo
- data fusion
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architect Swarmer (2023-)
Alexander Fink
Co-founder and US CEO of Swarmer; a veteran of imaging-silicon and camera companies.
- defense tech ceo
- imaging silicon
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architect Meta
Amir Frenkel
A generative-AI engineering leader at Meta and a director of Swarmer.
- ai engineering
- defense tech board
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theorist University of Warwick
Anthony King
Sociologist of war whose fieldwork shows AI changing headquarters more than the battlefield.
- sociology of war
- academic
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theorist White House (2021-2024)
Ben Buchanan
Cyber-and-AI policy scholar who served as the White House's first Special Advisor for Artificial Intelligence.
- ai policy
- cybersecurity
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architect
Brett Adcock
Founder & CEO, Figure AI; serial entrepreneur in robotics and aviation
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architect Anduril Industries (2017-)
Brian Schimpf
Co-founder and CEO of Anduril Industries, the engineer running one of the largest US defence-tech startups.
- defense tech ceo
- autonomous systems
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architect
Dan Driscoll
U.S. Secretary of the Army, Trump administration
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operator US Department of Defense (2017-2021)
Drew Cukor
Retired US Marine colonel who founded and ran Project Maven, the Pentagon's first algorithmic-warfare team.
- programme lead
- military officer
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architect Special Competitive Studies Project (2021-)
Eric Schmidt
Former Google CEO who chaired the US AI national-security commission and now builds AI attack drones for Ukraine.
- defense tech founder
- policy architect
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architect Blackwater (1997-2010)
Erik Prince
Founder of the private-military firm Blackwater; non-executive chairman of Swarmer.
- private military
- defense investor
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architect
Fedorov (Ukrainian Minister of Defense)
Minister of Defence of Ukraine
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theorist
H.R. McMaster
Retired U.S. Army Lt. General; former National Security Advisor
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operator Joint Artificial Intelligence Center (2018-2020)
Jack Shanahan
First director of the Pentagon's Joint AI Center; previously ran Project Maven.
- command
- military ai
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architect
Jeth Rey
Deputy Chief of Staff for Command, Control, Communications, Cyber and Networks, U.S. Army
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architect Anduril Industries (2017-)
Joe Chen
Co-founder of Anduril Industries, the hardware engineer of the founding team.
- defense tech founder
- engineering
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theorist Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)
Kateryna Bondar
A Ukrainian defence-technology analyst at CSIS, tracking how Russia and Ukraine are wiring AI, drones and command-and-control into the war.
- analyst
- ukraine
- ai warfare
- drones
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architect Anduril Industries (2017-)
Matt Grimm
Co-founder and chief operating officer of Anduril Industries.
- defense tech coo
- operations
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theorist
Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf
Speaker of the Iranian Parliament and former IRGC brigadier general
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architect Government of Ukraine (2026-)
Mykhailo Fedorov
Ukraine's Minister of Defence and former digital-transformation chief — architect of the "Army of Drones" and the Brave1 defence-tech cluster.
- government
- defense tech architect
- drone procurement
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architect Swarmer (2026-)
Mykhailo Nestor
Chief product officer of Swarmer; former chief product officer of Ukraine's Kyivstar Group.
- defense tech exec
- product leadership
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architect Anduril Industries (2017-)
Palmer Luckey
Founded Anduril Industries to bring Silicon Valley engineering to defence procurement.
- defense tech ceo
- autonomous systems
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theorist Center for a New American Security
Paul Scharre
Former Pentagon policy lead writing the canonical books on autonomous weapons.
- defense policy
- autonomous weapons
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theorist
Pete Hegseth
29th U.S. Secretary of Defense, former Fox News host
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architect US Department of Defense (2014-2017)
Robert Work
Architect of the Pentagon's Third Offset Strategy and the original sponsor of Project Maven.
- doctrine
- civilian leadership
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theorist
Roderich Kiesewetter
CDU Member of the Bundestag and former Bundeswehr general staff officer
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theorist
Sergei Shoigu
Secretary of Russia's Security Council; former Minister of Defence
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architect Swarmer (2023-)
Serhii Kupriienko
Co-founder and global CEO of Swarmer, the first Ukrainian defence-tech company to list on the Nasdaq.
- defense tech ceo
- drone swarm
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architect
Serhiy Prytula
Founder, Prytula Charity Foundation — Ukraine
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operator US Army (2003-2008)
Stanley McChrystal
Former JSOC commander who pioneered industrial-scale data-driven targeting in Iraq.
- special operations
- command
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architect Anduril Industries (2017-)
Trae Stephens
Co-founder and executive chairman of Anduril and a Founders Fund partner who connects Silicon Valley capital to defence.
- defense tech founder
- venture capital
-
theorist
Valery Gerasimov
Chief of the General Staff, Russian Armed Forces
Showing 32 people.
For broader figures in AI — researchers, founders, ethicists not specifically focused on warfare — see the Prometheans 100+ register on prometheusroot.com.